To a large degree, the Los Angeles Rams season has been defined by the offensive line. They invested so heavily in the group so heavily recently. They used their first pick in the 2023 draft to pick up left guard Steve Avila and spent a collective $26 million in cap space (more than 10 percent) on right guard Kevin Dotson and center Jonah Jackson.
Then injuries were the defining factor. Avila and Jackson have missed much of the season due to injury. The newest addition to the injured offensive linemen is right tackle Rob Havenstein, who went down with an ankle injury late in the third quarter.
Rams Update On O-Line Injury Status
On Monday morning, head coach Sean McVay gave updates on the status of each of the injured offensive linemen.
According to The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, McVay expects Havenstein to miss next week’s game against the Miami Dolphins, “but as of now doesn’t think it will be longer than that.” And according to Greg Beacham, McVay said “It’s nothing that’s IR.” — meaning Havenstein won’t be put on the injured reserve list that would require him to miss four games.
Among the other injuries, Joe Noteboom may be able to make his return to play, which would be fortuitous, given the injury to Havenstein. Noteboom has filled in for him as recently as last year — playing in four games at right tackle.
McVay also announced that the team would open the 21-day return window for center Jonah Jackson and left guard Steve Avila. Both have been on the IR since early in the season. This will allow the two to resume practicing with the team and can be activated before the upcoming Dolphins game. McVay also said it was a possibility that both could play in that game.
If either is unable to play this week, Noteboom can also move into the left guard spot. He has played a handful of games at guard throughout his career.
