Rams Week 8 snap counts: Jones leads LBs, Long Jr. fills in for Rochell
Injuries forced the Rams to make a few changes on both sides of the ball this week against the Texans after both Andrew Whitworth and Sebastian Joseph-Day were ruled out. Joe Noteboom and Greg Gaines stepped in as starters, playing well in the Rams’ 38-22 win.
But there were also some other adjustments made, such as David Long Jr. playing more than usual with Robert Rochell still being limited by a knee injury suffered last week. Despite being active, Rochell barely played against Houston.
Below are the offensive and defensive snap counts from Week 8.
Offense
Only two players were on the field for every offensive snap: David Edwards and Joe Noteboom. The rest of the starters got some time off in the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. Austin Corbett, Brian Allen and Rob Havenstein played 58 of a possible 67 snaps, and were replaced by Coleman Shelton, Bobby Evans and Alaric Jackson for nine plays.
Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods each played 58 snaps to lead the receivers, two more than Van Jefferson played. Ben Skowronek got on the field for 20 snaps, catching three passes for 30 yards. Tutu Atwell didn’t play a single offensive snap.
Tyler Higbee got some well-deserved rest, playing just 69% of the snaps after being on the field for every play last week. Kendall Blanton played 21 snaps and Jacob Harris was out there for nine snaps himself.
Darrell Henderson Jr. played 41 snaps and touched the ball on 15 of those plays. Sony Michel filled in for him on 20 snaps, with Buddy Howell playing the other six snaps at running back.
Defense
Dont’e Deayon seems to be sticking around as a starter in the secondary, though it remains to be seen if that’ll still be the case when Darious Williams returns. He played nearly every snap on Sunday, followed closely by Long. Jalen Ramsey had a lighter workload after being sick on Thursday and Friday, getting some time off in the fourth quarter. Rochell was questionable with a knee injury and Sean McVay said after the game that he was on the fringe of being inactive, knowing they would only need him in an emergency situation.
Ernest Jones played the most snaps of any inside linebacker, out-snapping Troy Reeder 54 to 39. That’s a surprising development because it was initially believed that Jones would need some time before becoming the top linebacker in L.A., but he rarely came off the field.
Jordan Fuller, who was also questionable coming into this game, only played 30 snaps. The Rams played it safe with their starting safety, giving Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott and JuJu Hughes more playing time. Terrell Burgess still didn’t have a big role, playing just 18 snaps – fewer than Hughes played.
Terrell Lewis, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Leonard Floyd are still the top edge rushers, playing between 54% and 62% of the snaps Sunday. Jamir Jones played 15 snaps as the fourth outside linebacker in the rotation.
Greg Gaines was highly productive in place of Sebastian Joseph-Day, recording six pressures, one QB hit and a half-sack. He out-snapped A’Shawn Robinson considerably, and even Michael Hoecht and Jonah Williams played more than Robinson. Aaron Donald played fewer snaps than normal due to the blowout.
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