The Los Angeles Rams have officially activate RB Darrell Henderson from their practice squad to the gameday Active/Inactive roster, allowing him to dress and play in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will be one of many options the team will have as they reshuffle their backfield following injuries to starter Kyren Williams and backup Ronnie Rivers.
As we noted a short time ago, Williams has been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four games.
Elevating Henderson was an expected move and reported yesterday. This is a standard elevation for Henderson.
Henderson is a former Ram brought back because of his familiarity with the team and the offense. A third round pick of the team in 2019, he’s carried the ball 396 times for more than 1,700 yards and 13 rushing scores throughout his career. Henderson’s best season came in 2021, carrying the ball nearly 150 times for 688 yards and eight total touchdowns (five rushing, three receiving).
He joins a jumbled up group of Rams’ running backs. There’s also rookie Zach Evans, who received the first four carries of his NFL career in Week Six’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. Veteran Royce Freeman was signed off the team’s practice squad after the injuries to Williams and Rivers (Rivers landed on IR) while the team also signed Myles Gaskin off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad. Gaskin is known for his third down ability as a blocker and receiver.
While it’s not known who will start or even dress, the Rams are likely to use a heavy rotation of runners against the Steelers. Perhaps Evans will play on early downs with Gaskin used on passing downs with Henderson and Freeman being candidates for all downs.
On the season, the Rams’ run game has been average, though they ran effectively in the second half of their win over the Cardinals. Los Angeles will likely focus even more on the passing game, led by veteran QB Matthew Stafford and WRs Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and TuTu Atwell.
