LOS ANGELES — The Rams (4-4) officially opened the practice windows Thursday for offensive linemen Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and Steve Avila (knee) in their returns from injured reserve. Both were listed as limited participants on Thursday.
Jackson is expected to play in Monday’s game against the Miami Dolphins (2-6), while Avila should require some additional return before playing the field.
After spending training camp working at both left guard and center, head coach Sean McVay said Jackson will work at both positions again this week before the team determines what spot he will play against the Dolphins.
“Steve will be able to get some work as well,” McVay said. “It’s good to be able to have those guys back out on the practice field. We’ve had a lot of moving parts on the offensive line so certainly something we’re used to.”
Rookies Beaux Limmer and Justin Dedich have filled in at center and left guard, respectively, and have been steady enough to give the Rams some stability on the line after cycling through starting configurations to start the year. Neither has allowed a sack across a combined 698 snaps.
So that gives the Rams some security as they decide what Jackson and Avila are ready for in the next few weeks.
“You gotta be able to trust your gut, make an evaluation on ultimately what we think is going to be best, where these guys are at physically,” McVay said. “Obviously these are special players and guys that have played a lot of really good football in this league. It’s part of the evaluation; that’s what’s challenging, just when you have limited repetitions during the course of the week leading into the game. But we’ll evaluate it and then it’s a combination of both performance-based and how they’re feeling medically.”
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NOTES
Punter Ethan Evans was cleared to return to practice and play after missing last week’s game due to illness.
Safety Cam Kurl (knee), right guard Kevin Dotson (ankle), wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (toe), right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore (shoulder) were all held out of practice on Thursday. Havenstein has already been ruled out for Monday. Gallimore missed last week’s game with the same injury. McVay said that Kurl and Dotson are expected to play vs. Miami, and didn’t seem concerned about Robinson’s toe injury, saying, “He feels good. He’s tough.”