It’s not news to share the fact that the LA Rams’ early onslaught of injuries has placed the team in a rather precarious position. You see, NFL teams are limited in the number of times that team can restore a player off injured reserve, and with so many significant injuries, the team has all but exhausted their ration of restorations.

While there are multiple players who could be returned to the active roster, only one more restoration remains. So the team must be careful as to who is returned. If an injury occurs to a different position, this team will be too heavy in one position, and too light in the other position. And so it goes with managing an NFL roster with five games left to go in the season.

The Rams have been getting high-quality play from both the safety and linebacker positions of late. The safeties are led by veteran DBs Quentin Lake and Kamren Curl, and powered by the energy of rookies Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough. So far, they have done a respectable job. But the bigger surprise has to be how well veteran ILB Christian Rozeboom has been playing alongside undrafted rookie ILB Omar Speights.

While the team is in no rush to add either player back to the active roster, there are many reasons for taking it slow. For starters, the team may be content with the current 53-man Rams roster configuration. There is also the fact that the team has been making progress on developing younger players in the veteran duo’s absences. Finally, there is the rule of continuity, and changing out starters or key rotational players voluntarily now means that the defense will need to re-adjust to the new additions, even though they have started on defense in the past.

I am happy that the Rams are not shooting from the hip on this one. Their final restored player could prove to be vital to winning a game or two, and if fortune smiles on the team, even into the postseason. But if I had to vote now, I’d rather have DB John Johnson III back than ILB Troy Reeder. The obvious reason to me is that I simply do not trust coaches to keep promising rookie inside linebacker Omar Speights on the football field if Reeder returns.

The Rams have five games to go, and can restore just one player from injured reserve over the past five games. Let’s hope that it doesn’t become a problem in the remaining games.