Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell has not played since Oct. 19 when he injured a hamstring. Coach Sean McVay said on Nov. 24 that he expected Atwell to return for Week 13, that Atwell was “ready to roll.”
Eleven days later, though, Atwell remains on injured reserve. McVay said Friday that Atwell is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
Atwell will miss his sixth consecutive game.
The Rams have one more week to decide whether to activate Atwell from injured reserve or let him finish the season on injured reserve. McVay indicated earlier this week that it’s about finding a roster spot for Atwell rather than Atwell having had a setback in his recovery.
“I have a lot of love for him and what he’s done and how he’s handled it,” McVay said. “It’s been a unique set of circumstances relative to the timing and figuring out how you get 48 guys up and being able to balance that out relative to how many on offense, how many on defense and your three specialists. That’s not something that we’ve explored or really thought is a possibility, but you never know.”
Atwell signed a $10 million contract in the offseason but has only four catches for 164 yards and a touchdown this season.
The Rams list cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) as doubtful and defensive tackle Poona Ford (calf) as questionable.
The biggest news in Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s Friday press conference was that quarterback Kyler Murray will not play for the team again this season, but Gannon also shared some other injury information for Week 14’s game against the Rams.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.'s status was at the top of that list. Harrison has been ruled out for Sunday because of the heel injury he suffered in last weekend’s loss to the Buccaneers. Harrison had missed the previous two games after having an appendectomy, so this will be his third time out of the lineup in the last four games.
Greg Dortch (chest) will also miss the game, so the Cardinals will be thin at wideout as they try to send the Rams to their second straight loss.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen (knee), cornerback Max Melton (heel), and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle) are the others out this week while running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated from injured reserve.
This one was inevitable.
With UCLA allegedly trying to ditch the Rose Bowl for SoFi Stadium, SoFi Stadium and owner Stan Kroenke face potential liability for intentional and tortious interference with the business interests of the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co.
Via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, SoFi Stadium and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment have been added to the existing lawsuit aimed at forcing UCLA to honor a contract that runs through 2044.
The argument is simple. If the Kroenke defendants knew about the lease agreement between UCLA and the Rose Bowl, they had a legal duty to refrain from trying to lure UCLA to violate the contract. If it can be proven, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the Kroenke defendants recruited UCLA to break its existing deal, the Kroenke defendants become responsible for both compensation and potentially punitive damages.
It’s a very basic concept of American business. If a company knows some person or organization has a contract, the company can’t try to get them to violate it. The company has to respect it. If it don’t, the company may get sued.
Bolch explains that the amended civil complaint alleges the Kroenke defendants did indeed know about UCLA’s agreement with the Rose Bowl “yet coordinated with UCLA to breach its contractual obligations and abandon the Rose Bowl stadium in favor of playing its home football games at SoFi Stadium.” The amended complaint also contends that the Kroenke defendants acted with “malice,” which (if proven) opens the door to an award of punitive damages aimed at making an example out of the Kroenke defendants in the hopes of deterring others from engaging in similar behavior.
The development positions the Rose Bowl to be a winner either way. UCLA will be forced to honor the contract, or the Rose Bowl plaintiffs will be eligible to receive a potentially significant damages award from UCLA and/or the Kroenke defendants.
Of course, the first step will be proving that the contract would be violated by a relocation some 18 years before the expiration of the agreement. If the Rose Bowl plaintiffs can satisfy that burden, UCLA stays — or the Rose Bowl gets paid, possibly a very significant amount of money.
Rams receiver Davante Adams did not practice on Wednesday and was upgraded to a limited participant on Thursday with a hamstring injury.
Adams told reporters that it’s not the same hamstring issue that bothered him earlier in the season and he feels like he should be OK to play this weekend against the Cardinals.
“It’s a little different spot, but it’s feeling good, though,” Adams said, via transcript from the team. “I’m feeling much better than what I anticipated and honestly just wanted to be smart about it. I felt it early in the game last week and was able to get through the game just fine.
“I just want to manage it. We have a turtle race coming up here so we just have to make sure we are available.”
Adams currently leads the league with 14 touchdown receptions, having caught at least one in each of Los Angeles’ last six games.
In his first season with the Rams, Adams has 52 receptions for 689 yards.
Rams wide receiver Davante Adams didn’t practice on Wednesday because of hamstring soreness. He also didn’t practice last Wednesday before returning to work on Thursday.
He played 30 snaps in Sunday’s win over the Cardinals, catching four passes for 29 yards.
In his first season with the Rams, Adams has 52 receptions for 689 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) was limited.
Wide receiver Tutu Atwell (hamstring) and cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) were full participants. Atwell will return to the active roster this week.
