Rams Designate Darious Williams To Return From Injured Reserve

The Los Angeles Rams designated cornerback Darious Williams to return from injured reserve, who practiced for the first time this season on Wednesday alongside defensive tackle Larrell Murchison.

However, Murchison still has not been designated to return, so he will be sidelined a little longer. The team also signed defensive back Cam Lampkin to the practice squad.

Williams has been out all year due to a hamstring injury he sustained during training camp. He was projected to be one of the Rams’ starting outside cornerbacks this season and could return to that role when he is activated.

That could come as early as Sunday when the Rams host the Green Bay Packers in Week 5. Williams should provide a boost to a cornerbacks group that has had its ups and downs this season.

DWill pic.twitter.com/tff94TpK8E

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 3, 2024

Veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White has struggled while Quentin Lake is thriving in the slot. The team could make the difficult decision to bench White and simply replace him with Williams in the starting lineup.

The Rams could also go with White and Williams as their starting outside cornerbacks, which would require putting Cobie Durant back in the slot and moving Lake to safety.

Either way, the Rams’ cornerbacks group should be getting a shake-up soon. If Williams doesn’t return on Sunday, he would have to activated within the next 14 days, which lines up with the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders after their bye.

Williams originally signed with the Rams as a free agent during the 2018 season and remained with the team through 2021 before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars. He then re-signed with the Rams this past March after being released.

Sean McVay discusses how Rams can improve in red zone

The Rams are missing several key players on offense, which in turn has led to some struggles in the red zone. Head coach Sean McVay discussed how the team can improve in that area.

“I don’t think we’ve executed very well,” McVay said. “There are certainly some runs and some passes. I think when you look at yesterday…and we’re all in this together so it’s a collective collaborative effort, but I think the thing that challenged me about yesterday is I thought we had a lot of good things but everybody took their hand on some critical downs that led to us not executing or finishing drives.

“I didn’t like the screen that I called to Colby [Parkinson] that led to an OPI (offensive pass interference). That was something that we had a chance to execute, but I don’t think we had an understanding of what we were looking for there and the execution reflected that so I look at myself there.

“There were some opportunities with some other plays that I think we’re capable of doing what we should do that would lead to efficiency. We would’ve to watch drive-by-drive. Every play has its own story and its own entity, but in terms of our inability to execute and finish drives yesterday, we have to be a lot better. That was one of the frustrating themes of that game for me.”