Rams veterans and rookies only reported to training camp Saturday, but Los Angeles is already calling a reverse.
Although the team initially expected that star cornerback Jalen Ramsey would be placed on the physically unable to perform list at the beginning of camp due to his ongoing recovery from a June shoulder surgery, head coach Sean McVay told reporters Sunday that team doctors ultimately cleared Ramsey to participate in a limited fashion.
"We ended up not putting Ramsey on the PUP as a result of -- doctors cleared him in a limited fashion," McVay said. "That enables him to participate in a lot of the jog-throughs, the above-the-neck stuff. And to be able to have him out here with his teammates with all the different things that we ask of him, he felt good about that. We felt good about that. And so, I think that's what's best for our football team. That's why we pivoted in that direction."
Ramsey has served as a key piece of Los Angeles' stellar defense since his midseason trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. He has logged six interceptions and 29 passes defensed in his time with the Rams, and he earned first-team All-Pro honors in both of his full seasons on the team.
Getting him on the field as soon as possible, even in a walkthrough capacity, gives the Rams that much more of a boost as the team begins its title defense in earnest.
"Any time you have a player of his caliber -- and really it's fortunate for us that it's an upper-body injury because a lot of this stuff, you're still moving around in your lower half," McVay said. "So, there were some unique parameters that enabled us to take that approach. All of the different things that we ask of Jalen. The different communication that's required. He felt good about that, (defensive coordinator) Raheem (Morris), the defensive coaches, and that's the step that we'll take. And we'll continue to just take it a day at a time and have a specific plan for him."
The plan for now is to grant Ramsey an avenue to ingrain himself within the team's 2022 DNA while still rehabbing from surgery. The long-term goal will be for the team's genetic makeup to prove championship-worthy once again.
