Rush to restock running backs
With their running back corps depleted by injuries, the Rams made moves Tuesday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams activated
Royce Freeman from the practice squad to the roster, signed former Rams running back Darrell Henderson to the practice squad and agreed to terms with
Myles Gaskin, who had been on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.
The moves were necessary because starter Kyren Williams suffered an ankle injury and Ronnie Rivers suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s 26-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Sean McVay said Monday that the backs would be “out for a little bit.”
The additions strengthen a position group that also features rookie Zach Evans, who rushed for 10 yards in four carries against the Cardinals in his NFL debut.
Henderson played for the Rams for three-plus seasons after they selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft. He was released last November, having rushed for 1,742 yards and scored 17 touchdowns in 50 games, including 28 starts. He had his best season in 2021, when he rushed for 688 yards in 10 games and scored eight touchdowns.
Gaskin, a fifth-year pro, played four seasons for the Miami Dolphins. His best season was 2021, when he rushed for 612 yards and three touchdowns and caught four touchdown passes.
Season tickets rise
In the last three years, the Rams won a Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, experienced the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history and have begun this season with a 3-3 record.
Throughout that period, season-ticket prices remained the same.
On Tuesday, the Rams notified season-ticket holders informing them that prices would increase next season. It is the first increase since prices for the 2021 season were announced in 2018, the team said.
“Using market data and trying to understand what the price of tickets should be, we thought a price increase was reasonable overall,” Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, said during a videoconference. “Given the context of normally teams raise ticket prices each year — we haven’t for three years — this is a pretty moderate increase coming off three years without an increase.”
In the last three seasons, season-ticket packages ranged from $600 to $3,750, the Rams said. That will increase to $720 to $4,050.
Home opponents next season are the Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Dolphins and an NFC East and an AFC West opponent to be determined.
The Rams also will introduce two new programs. A “Ticket Turnover Program” enables season-ticket holders to sell back tickets for as many as three games for a credit toward the next season. A food and nonalcoholic beverage discount program will enable members to receive price breaks on game days ranging from 15% to 30% depending on membership level, the team said.
The Rams are in the playoff hunt despite a significant offseason pullback in spending on retaining and acquiring star players.
Demoff pointed to the Rams’ full complement of 2024 draft picks — including a first-round pick for the first time since 2016 — and nearly $50 million in salary cap space that they will have to “invest in new players and make the kinds of trades we made,” he said.
“This year was always about taking pain that was created by that Super Bowl run — if there was to be pain — making sure we would be able to spend at those levels moving forward,” he said.