Sean McVay set to rest starters for Rams’ dead rubber against Seahawks

Ahead of the final week of the season, the Rams' head coach Sean McVay shared that he is likely to make his starters rest against Seattle.

Sean McVay set to rest starters for Rams’ dead rubber against Seahawks

Sean McVay (Via Richmond Times-Dispatch)

As the NFL approaches its final week, the biggest discussion around the league is which teams are making their starters rest to prepare for the playoff competition. When the discussion came to the Los Angeles Rams, they seemed to be moving in that direction only. 

The Rams are coming off a victory against the Arizona Cardinals that locked not just a playoff seat for them but also the NFC West title. Heading to their Week 18 game, if they succeed, they will secure the No. 3 seed in the conference whereas a loss would drop them to No. 4. However, when head coach Sean McVay was asked about his plans with the starters for the next week, he didn’t seem too eager to clinch the third seed. 

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While talking on the subject in an interview with the Rams’ official website, the head coach confirmed that resting the starters is “probably the direction that we’ll go” against Seattle next week. He said that the team would always prefer competing “relative to what’s at risk.” 

This decision by the Rams isn’t quite surprising because throughout head coach McVay’s tenure when they clinched a playoff spot, he has always chosen to rest his starters in order to make sure to avoid any risk of injuries. With that approach for Week 18, the Rams are going forward with backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to start against the Seahawks while giving rest to starter Matthew Stafford. 

Sean McVay excited to showcase Blake Corum and Cody Schrader in Rams’ season finale

Since preferring rest over risk for the starters, the Rams head coach McVay shared giving opportunities to some other players on the roster. Besides quarterback Garopollo, he also named a couple of other Rams players to start the game in the final week of the season. 

“I’m excited about watching Blake Corum get a heavy workload,” shared McVay via the team’s website.

I’m excited to see what Cody Schrader’s about, I’ve loved what I’ve seen from him in these practice settings and I think Blake has flashed in some of these opportunities that he’s gotten.

Sean McVay added
LA Rams running back Blake Corum
LA Rams running back Blake Corum (Via SI)

The running back, Blake Corum, serves as a backup for the Rams and has recorded 197 yards on 56 carries since he started. He’s still seeking to record the first touchdown of his career and will get another opportunity next week. Joining him in the backfield is Cody Schrader, whom the Rams drafted this week and would start his first regular season game. 

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