The Los Angeles Rams' secondary suffered a major blow when Jaylen Watson reinjured his shoulder in Sunday's win over the Chargers. While it wasn't originally believed to be significant, Sean McVay told reporters on Wednesday that Watson needs season-ending surgery.
Now without their No. 2 cornerback for the rest of the year, the Rams must pivot. Cornerback depth was already a concern before the season began and now it'll be tested in the next nine games. The silver lining to the time Watson and Trent McDuffie both missed up to this point is that the Rams' backup cornerbacks are better prepared to step in.
Josh Wallace has played significant snaps as the third cornerback, filling in for Watson and McDuffie when they've been out of the lineup. The
same goes for Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who has played limited snaps but has come up with several key pass breakups in big spots.
With Watson out, the Rams are confident turning to Wallace and Forbes, who are both among the 10 highest-graded cornerbacks in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think those guys have done really well," Sean McVay said of Wallace and Forbes on Wednesday. Jimmy Lake has done such a great job really with those corners as a whole group. Josh has played a lot of snaps. I thought 'E-Forbes' really played well last week. Both of those guys have been tapped in. They've been ready to step up and it seems like there have been a lot of games that we've had our top corners get banged up and they've played a lot more. They both have played a bunch of meaningful snaps and they've earned the confidence of their teammates, their coaches, and I'm excited for them.”
McVay did admit that the Rams could look to bring in some outside help. They started to do that on Thursday when they signed cornerback David Long Jr. to the practice squad, reuniting with their 2019 third-round pick out of Michigan. But he's not a viable replacement for Watson, and is more of an emergency depth piece in the secondary.
“It would be something that we could look into," McVay said of possibly adding a defender. "I would never say no to anything. A lot of the dialogue has revolved around replacing a Davante [Adams]. You don't ever replace him. In my mind, you're getting some other eligibles back and that could supplement it. It's a different deal, but I do have confidence in those other guys. I look at the back end and the offensive line – those are positions you can't have enough depth at."
If the Rams are going to make a big move at cornerback, the trade deadline is Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. ET, so they have less than a week to sort it out.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams are well-equipped to replace Jaylen Watson, but could add help
