The Los Angeles Rams are entering a critical phase of their preseason preparations, as the team is less than one month away from the season opener. As Week 1 approaches, the worry is that some players won't be healthy enough to make the trip to Melbourne, Australia.
However, Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed good news on Tuesday, as the team could potentially get Justin Dedich and Davis Allen back in the next few weeks. Allen is on the doorstep of a return from his quad injury and likely will play in the opener.
“He's good," said McVay on Allen. "He is making good progress. He’s able to start doing some different things. You're seeing him do running. I would expect him to be back within the next week. We don't feel like, unless there’s a setback,
there isn’t any threat to the San Francisco game. With the way that he plays, he’s a big, important part of our offense and so it'll be great to be able to get him back out there. In the meantime, some younger guys have gotten reps that they wouldn't have otherwise gotten, but we'll look forward to getting Davis back for sure.”
Davis plays a big role in the Rams' blocking scheme and has factored into every personnel package the team likes to run. Dedich may need a bit more time, but his recovery from an offseason hand injury at home is looking good, and this next week could be a turning point for the backup guard.
“He's good," McVay said. "He is actually able to start doing some different things where he'll put a cast on that will allow him to be able to participate. Now, whether or not we take him off the NFI (Non-Football Injury) list and he actually starts rejoining us, we're going to see how he feels doing some different things with Reggie [Scott] and [Justin] Lovett and those guys. I was actually talking to him yesterday. He’s feeling really encouraged about the progress he has made and then we'll see what his caliber of play looks like relative to being able to compete with that cast on. No new news, but he is making really good progress and whether or not we take him off that NFI list will be predicated on how the next week goes, if you will.”
The Rams are set to play the 49ers on September 10, with two more preseason games before then. They'll also have a joint practice with the Saints on Thursday before facing New Orleans in Saturday's preseason game.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2 key Rams backups making 'good progress' toward return from injury
