Rams wide receiver Davante Adams is headed toward a return this weekend.
Adams was a full participant in practice for the first time since aggravating his hamstring in Week 15. He got limited work last week but missed a third consecutive game.
He has 60 receptions for 789 yards and 14 touchdowns this season.
Safety Quentin Lake (elbow) also was a full participant.
Lake missed the team’s final seven games after injuring an elbow against the Seahawks in Week 11.
The Rams did not practice on Tuesday but listed four players as non-participants.
They estimated offensive lineman Kevin Dotson (ankle), wide receiver Jordan Whittington (knee), tight end Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) and cornerback Josh Wallace (ankle) as out of practice.
Defensive end Braden Fiske (ankle) and tight end Tyler Higbee (ankle) were limited.
Panthers Clips
The Rams officially have one of their key defenders back on the roster.
Los Angeles has activated safety Quentin Lake off of injured reserve, the team announced on Tuesday.
Lake has been sidelined since suffering an elbow injury in the club’s Nov. 16 win over Seattle. Lake did not play in the Week 13 loss to Carolina.
In his fourth pro season, Lake registered 61 total tackles with 10 passes defensed, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a sack, and an interception in 10 regular-season games.
As a corresponding move, the Rams have placed linebacker Shaun Dolan on injured reserve.
Additionally, L.A. released safety Nate Valcarcel off of the practice squad and signed linebacker Ben Niemann to the practice squad.
Panthers defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton missed the final four games of the regular season with a hamstring injury, but Tuesday’s injury report brought good news about his chances of playing against the Rams this weekend.
Wharton was listed as a full participant in the team’s first on-field work of the week. Wharton started all nine games he played this season and had 36 tackles and two sacks in those appearances.
Defensive lineman Bobby Brown (concussion) was a limited participant after being injured in Week 18. Cornerback Robert Rochell (concussion) was also listed as limited.
Linebacker Claudin Cherelus (calf, ankle) joined Wharton as a full participant. Guards Robert Hunt (biceps) and Chandler Zavala (calf) were also full participants as they work their way back from injured reserve.
The Panthers designated Robert Hunt for return from injured reserve last month and they have another guard who could potentially return to the lineup in the postseason.
The team announced that they have designated Chandler Zavala for return on Tuesday. Zavala went on the list on November 29 due to a calf injury,
Zavala also missed time on injured reserve with a knee injury earlier in the season. He returned to start three games before suffering the calf injury.
Damien Lewis and Austin Corbett started at guard for the Panthers in Week 18.
The Panthers currently have an open roster spot for either Hunt or Zavala, but would need to make another move to create space for both players ahead of Saturday’s game against the Rams.
The Panthers made a few changes to their roster ahead of Saturday’s playoff opener against the Rams.
Wide receiver David Moore has been activated from injured reserve. Moore has been out since injuring his elbow in Week Four.
Moore had one catch for five yards and one carry for 12 yards before his injury.
The Panthers waived wide receiver Hunter Renfrow in a corresponding move. Renfrow had 15 catches for 89 yards in the first six weeks of the season, but has been inactive for the last 11 games.
The Panthers also waived safety Demani Richardson. They could use his roster spot to activate guard Robert Hunt from injured reserve before facing the Rams.
The Panthers are 10.5-point underdogs against the Rams in Saturday’s playoff opener, and Carolina coach Dave Canales says that’s not on his mind.
Asked if he takes it as disrespect that his team is the weekend’s biggest underdog despite beating the Rams in the regular season, Canales said it doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t know how they come up with those numbers, but I’m sure they have algorithms,” Canales said. “We can’t worry about that. We’ve just got to worry about playing our best football.”
The Panthers are 8-9 and entering the playoffs off a loss in the regular-season finale, but Canales said he’s emphasizing to his team that it’s a whole new season.
“Every game is a championship opportunity,” Canales said. “Here it is, right in front of us.”
The Rams are getting some significant players back as they prepare to face the Panthers for the first game of the 2025 postseason.
Via multiple reporters, head coach Sean McVay said in his Monday news conference that receiver Davante Adams and safety Quentin Lake are expected to return for Saturday’s wild card matchup.
Adams has been sidelined since aggravating a hamstring injury in Los Angeles’ Dec. 14 victory over Detroit. Though he played just 14 games this season, Adams still finished with a league-leading 14 touchdowns, having caught 60 passes for 789 yards.
Lake has been out with an elbow injury suffered in the Nov. 16 win over the Seahawks. The Rams did not have Lake when they lost to the Panthers in Week 13, and he should provide a significant boost to the club’s defensive unit.
Additionally, McVay noted that the Rams should have tight end Terrance Ferguson back after the club held him out for Sunday’s win over the Cardinals due to a hamstring injury.
Guard Kevin Dotson (ankle) is less certain to return for Saturday, McVay noted.
The Rams’ first injury report of the week is due out on Tuesday.
Home-field advantage might not mean much in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Of the six games in the wild card round, the road teams are favored in four.
The biggest favorites are the Rams, who are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Panthers in Carolina. But that might be just fine with the Panthers: The Rams were previously 10-point favorites at Carolina in the regular season, but the Panthers won 31-28.
The Packers are 1.5-point favorites on the road in Chicago. It will be the third meeting of the two teams in the last six weeks after they played twice in December. The Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime in Chicago in the regular season, while the Packers beat the Bears 28-21 in Green Bay.
The Bills are 1.5-point favorites against the Jaguars at Jacksonville. The Jaguars lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites at home against the 49ers. The Eagles lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Patriots are 3.5-point favorites at home against the Chargers. The Patriots went 14-3 this season, but all three losses were at home.
The Texans are 3-point favorites on the road against the Steelers. The Steelers lost at home three times in the regular season.
If the betting lines are to be believed, only two division winners, the No. 2 seed Eagles and Patriots, will advance to the divisional round.
The NFL has announced the wild-card weekend schedule for Jan. 10-12:
Saturday, Jan. 10
4:30 p.m. 5 Los Angeles Rams at 4 Carolina Panthers (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Chicago Bears (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 11
1 p.m. 6 Buffalo Bills at 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, Paramount+)
4:30 p.m. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 New England Patriots (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore/Pittsburgh (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Rams came away with a 37-20 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday to clinch the NFC’s No. 5 seed, setting up a rematch with the No. 4 Panthers next weekend.
Los Angeles had a 16-6 lead after a bit of a slow start on offense. But the Cardinals used a 14-point surge in the third quarter to go up 20-16 with 3:51 left in the period.
But the Rams responded well from there, with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson giving L.A. a 23-20 advantage. Then Stafford hit Tight end Tyler Higbee for a 22-yard score early in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored a third straight touchdown when Stafford hit Parkinson again for a 1-yard score to go up by 17.
Seeking his first MVP award, Stafford finished 25-of-40 for 259 yards with four touchdowns — a nice bounce-back performance after Monday night’s loss to Atlanta. Stafford will finish as the NFL’s passing yards leader for the first time, as he overtook Dak Prescott to finish with 4,707.
Stafford also moved into No. 6 all-time in career completions and No. 7 all-time in career touchdown passes. He became the third player in league history to have multiple touchdown passes in 15 games in a single season.
Puka Nacua finished the game with 10 catches for 76 yards with a touchdown, giving him the league lead with 129 catches in 16 games. Cardinals tight end Trey McBride entered Week 18 tied atop the leaderboard in receptions with Nacua, but caught seven passes for 65 yards.
The Rams steadily pressured Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett through the contest, finishing with six sacks. Brissett was 22-of-31 for 243 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Los Angeles finishes the season 12-5, which puts the team at second place in the NFC West with a better common-games record than San Francisco and No. 5 in the conference. The Rams will be on the road to face the Panthers in the wild card round, as Carolina clinched the NFC South on Sunday with the Falcons’ win over the Saints.
The Cardinals end the 2025 season at 3-14 with plenty of questions surrounding their roster and coaching staff for the upcoming offseason.
