Despite a decimated wide receiver room, the Los Angeles Rams are staying put and have let the NFL trade deadline pass without making any moves to bolster their passing game.
Puka Nacua's placement on injured reserve after spraining his ACL and MCL on Monday fueled speculation that general manager Les Snead's hand could be forced to act, considering both of Matthew Stafford's top receivers are now out for the foreseeable future, with Davante Adams still weeks away from returning from his ruptured hamstring.
That didn't happen.
When addressing the media on Monday, head coach Sean McVay told reporters they would be looking at "all avenues" to improve the position group.
"Putting our heads together and figuring out just the semantics of, what is the 48/53
(man roster)? What does our practice squad look like?" he said. "How does that shape the different areas of our football team, defensively, offensively and in the kicking game?”
Ultimately, it appears Snead and McVay have decided to go in a different direction.
Rams trade deadline grade: D
Despite the confidence the front office shares in the position group, they're taking a big risk in not adding at least some help externally. Nacua alone accounted for over half of Stafford's passing yards in Week 9 against the Commanders, and he was the only Rams receiver to have more than 20 receiving yards on the day.
Bringing in another guy won't automatically recreate the trust and chemistry that Nacua has built with Stafford, but it could've at the very least added depth to their most depleted unit.
Maybe the asking price was too high; maybe Snead and McVay didn't like the fit of any of the available receivers on the market. We won't know that until later, but for now it can't help but feel like the Rams let an opportunity slip by.
Rams wide receiver depth chart
Here's what LA's receiver room currently looks like with Nacua and Adams out:
- Tutu Atwell
- Konata Mumpfield
- Jordan Whittington
- CJ Daniels
- Alex Bachman
It's worth noting that McVay told reporters Whitting is dealing with back soreness, "so we'll see what that looks like moving forward."
Rams receiver room options
McVay has voiced confidence in the depth of his receivers before, but that was with Nacua on the field. Without him, Konata Mumpfield assumes WR1 duties with Jordan Whittington (who is dealing with back soreness), CJ Daniels, Tutu Atwell and Alex Bachman rounding out the group. Tight end Terrance Ferguson returned to practice after missing five games with an ankle injury last week but tweaked his hamstring on Friday and is expected to miss more time.
"Guys will be asked to step up," McVay said on Monday ahead of the deadline. "Puka has always had a pretty large target share based on his production and the different things that he does and because of the way that you're able to get him the football because of some of the unselfish stuff he does in the run game. (He was) 14-of-19 (on Sunday), he was outstanding. There are other guys that are very capable of doing some good stuff for us.
"We'll look to see those guys step up and it'll be great opportunity for them in spite of it being a bummer for those guys that are out.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rams earn poor trade deadline grade after taking big risk at WR
