An MCL sprain suffered in Week 1 made Steve Avila a candidate for injured reserve. The second-year offensive lineman was indeed moved to IR on Wednesday as part of the Rams’ injury-related moves.
Avila will miss at least the next four weeks as a result, but he underwent surgery to help his recovery. The 24-year-old’s procedure took place Thursday, head coach Sean McVay said. The plan behind that move, he added, was accelerating Avila’s healing process, and his recovery timeline will be watched closely as the Rams move forward with a shorthanded O-line.
Left tackle Joe Noteboom is also on injured reserve, although replacing him may be a matter of simply inserting Alaric Jackson into the starting lineup as early as Week 3. Jackson was hit with a two-game suspension to begin the season due to a personal conduct policy violation. Along the interior, how the Rams proceed in Avila’s absence will depend in large part on where Jonah Jackson lines up.
Added in free agency on a three-year, $51M deal, Jackson played at guard during his Lions tenure. Avila’s success at left guard as a rookie prompted the team to keep him there, though, and use Jackson at center. Changes to that arrangement will likely be needed now that Avila is out of the picture for the time being. The TCU product’s absence will be acutely felt given the nature of his rookie campaign, during which he logged over 1,100 snaps and ranked 35th amongst qualifying guards in terms of PFF grade.
In other news along the O-line, McVay added that he expects right tackle Rob Havenstein to be available for Week 2. Having him in place would lead to Warren McClendon taking on left tackle duties in the wake of Noteboom’s injury, he added (h/t Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic). McVay also said right guard Kevin Dotson should be be to suit up on Sunday, a positive sign for the Rams’ offensive interior. That unit will nevertheless be without Avila for the foreseeable future, and his success in rehab following surgery will be worth monitoring.
