Los Angeles

Rams

Johnson returned to the Rams last season on a one-year contract and is now re-upping with the team for the 2024 season. In his 2023 return, Johnson started eight of the 17 games he appeared in for the Rams while totaling two interceptions and six pass breakups. The veteran provides plenty of experience as a starter and will likely play in a similar backup role this season.

The update comes passively from team reporter Stu Jackson, who mentions that Higbee’s return-to-play date remains unknown. Isolated ACL tears typically require at least nine months of rehabilitation and Higbee’s combination ACL/MCL injury occurred on January 14th. The PUP list’s minimum four-game stay makes sense. GM Les Snead signed free agent TE Colby Parkinson to a three-year, $22.5 million deal this offseason, ostensibly giving him the first crack at replacing Higbee as the team’s Week 1 starter. Parkinson never earned a full-time role with the Seahawks but tallied 15 explosive pass plays (15-plus yards) as a backup over the last two years.

“Trying to predict who is going to get more targets or more yards is going to be very difficult to do,” Grosbard said on the Rotoworld Football Show. ESPN’s Sarah Barshop said in June that Kupp, 31, stood out during OTAs and minicamp, and head coach Sean McVay said Kupp is operating at full health after dealing with a range of injuries in 2023. In the 11 games in which Kupp and Nacua were active in 2023, Nacua had 92 targets to 89 targets for Kupp. If the oft-injured Kupp can stay on the field in 2024, he could challenge Nacua as LA’s receptions leader.

Grosbard, in an interview with Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter, said Williams’ foot-related absence from spring workouts won’t affect his role as LA’s clear-cut lead back. Grosbard described rookie Blake Corum as more of a breather back for Williams, adding the team drafted Corum with the 83rd pick in the 2024 draft because they wanted a “Kyren clone” to fill in for him should he once again miss time with injury. Rams head coach Sean McVay, according to Grosbard, “loves Kyren Williams.” “They see Kyren as the starter,” he added. Williams in 2023 was third in rushing yards and fifth in rushing touchdowns despite missing five games. His health will be worth monitoring during training camp.

NFL.com’s Nick Shook reports that Nacua trained alongside Kupp this offseason. Rams wide receivers coach Eric Yarber said “He looks just like Cooper. He’s lost so much body fat and gained so muscle, which enabled him to move more efficiently now.” Nacua adjusted his diet and lost roughly 10 pounds, gaining better control of his body. Though he already had a record-setting rookie year, Nacua has worked to take the next step in his game, with help from Kupp.

The Rams added Corum to a backfield dominated by Williams last season. Williams has been dealing with a foot issue in the offseason while Corum has been asked to develop a three-down skillset. The two backs could complement each other in the Rams offense. It is most notable that Williams said Corum’s addition as a runner could help him showcase even more as a pass-catcher after catching 32 passes for 206 yards last season. Though Corum’s addition has Williams optimistically thinking about their complementary roles, Williams has a notable injury history and is a risky gamble at cost for fantasy football with the added competition for touches. Corum will see the field next season, but expect Williams to be the lead back. If his comments are any indication, Williams’ pass-catching upside could see a bump for 2024.

It goes without saying that Kupp, 31, is a well-established name in football circles, but Barshop notes that the veteran receiver being healthy this offseason is “showing up on the practice field.” Head coach Sean McVay also said during OTAs that he doesn’t think “anyone really understands the amount of things” Kupp was dealing with last season as far as injuries are concerned. Kupp has a concerning injury history, appearing in just 21 games over the last two seasons. He also hasn’t cracked 1,000 yards since going for 145-1,947-16 in 2021. While we don’t expect him to be the player he was during that 2021 season, Kupp still remains a high-volume target in the Rams’ offense. He was targeted on an impressive 23.2 percent of his routes last season. Assuming he’s healthy, Kupp should be a high-end WR2 in PPR drafts and is still more than capable of providing a top-12 fantasy week.

White suffered a torn Achilles in Week 4 of last season and is still rehabbing his way back from the injury. The former Bill signed a one-year deal with the Rams earlier this offseason, and it doesn’t sound like McVay is ready to commit to White seeing a full workload when training camp kicks off next month. Still, the early reports on his recovery are encouraging, but most of his work this offseason has been done off to the side during team practices.

Stafford is 36 years old and coming off a solid season passing for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The Rams and head coach Sean McVay feel like they are in a good, competitive spot with Stafford after a productive season that got the team to a Wild Card game. Rapoport says, to his understanding, Stafford “wants more guaranteed money, doesn’t sound like he would mind a raise either.” Stafford is set to make $31 million in 2024 and has no guaranteed money in the remaining two years of his deal after this season. He is not expected to hold out of training camp, but with recent jumps in the quarterback market, Stafford desires more guaranteed money as he enters the late-30s stage of his career.

Corum, the 83rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has drawn consistent praise from LA coaches over the past couple months as incumbent starter Kyren Williams deals with a lingering foot injury that has cost him all of OTAs and minicamp. “On the offensive side, I’ve been pleased with a lot of guys but Blake Corum has really stood out,” McVay said. “Mature beyond his years. I love the way that he handles himself. I love even more how when there’s been a couple of things that didn’t go the way we wanted, how he responded the next play. The mental toughness that you see from him.” It would be something of an upset if Corum didn’t at least split backfield work with Williams to start the regular season — assuming Williams is fully recovered. Williams remains one of the riskiest picks in all of fantasy football.