ST. LOUIS -- Armed with a healthy 53-man roster, the St. Louis Rams have seven pregame inactives who are in good shape and could play if needed. At this stage in the season, it's rare but for a team out of the playoff race, it also means making some tough decisions.
And, in the process, it requires the Rams to leave some young players who could use some experience on the side. On Sunday against the New York Giants, the Rams probably didn't make some observers happy by choosing to leave young offensive linemen Barrett Jones and Brandon Washington on the sidelines, but they did get rookie cornerback Lamarcus Joyner back in the mix.
Some, including yours truly, wouldn't mind seeing some of the young offensive linemen get a few reps here and there to get a better gauge on what they have as they head into the offseason. The Rams need help on the offensive line and with Joseph and right tackle Joe Barksdale set for free agency and Wells with one year left on his deal, now seems like a good time to get some reps.
Perhaps the Rams already have made up their minds on those players or feel they aren't ready, but clearly they aren't going to tweak anything even with the chances of anything meaningful this season already gone.
GIANTS-RAMS INACTIVES
Giants: RB Rashad Jennings, CB Jayron Hosley, OL Adam Gettis, OL Eric Herman, TE Jerome Cunningham, LB James Davidson, DT Dominique Hamilton.
Rams: OL Brandon Washington, TE Alex Bayer, DL Ethan Westbrooks, DL Alex Carrington, CB Marcus Roberson, TE Justice Cunningham, OL Barrett Jones.
