After signing to the practice squad just two days ago, veteran running back Darrell Henderson is being elevated to the 53-man Active/Inactive roster by the Los Angeles Rams ahead of Sunday’s Week Seven matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Along with Henderson, the Rams will have veteran Royce Freeman in the backfield, as well as veteran Myles Gaskin, who was signed to the 53-man roster earlier in the week. Rookie Zach Evans will be in the mix, too. After losing running back Kyren Williams for a few weeks, and placing backup running back Ronnie Rivers on Injured Reserve with a knee injury, the Rams reshaped their backfield rather quickly this week.
Henderson previously played for the Rams from 2019-22 and recorded 396 carries for 1,742 yards and 13 touchdowns, adding another 66 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns. Henderson was part of the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl LVI team that beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20.
Henderson’s familiarity with the Rams and his ability to get up to speed quickly impressed head coach Sean McVay, which has the Rams making Henderson active on Sunday.
“I liked what I saw from all four of those guys this week,” McVay said, according to Rams team reporter Stu Jackson, via therams.com. “Darrell came back in, he’s a guy that’s going to be up and active this week. He’s done a great job of being able to quickly re-acclimate himself back to a lot of the things that we’ve done, he’s taking good care of himself in the meantime. And I have been pleased with Royce. He’s smart, conscientious, he’s been ready for this opportunity. Zach’s a guy that’s continuing to learn and then Myles Gaskin, being in Minnesota, being in Miami, there is some familiarity and he’s got a skill set that’s intriguing.
“I liked what I’ve seen from him. So there’s a possibility we’d have all four guys up. And then if not, then we’ll go with three. And we’re really still working through, truthfully, who those three would be between those four guys, and we might have all four of them up.”
Henderson has not played in the NFL since being waived in late November last season. His last carries came against the New Orleans Saints in Week 11 of the 2022 season.
Henderson was previously a third-round pick by the Rams out of Memphis. At Memphis, Henderson put together a monster breakout season in 2018, leading to him becoming the first Memphis player in nearly two decades to finish in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting. That season, Henderson ran for 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns on 214 carries.
His best season in the NFL came in 2021 when he ran for 688 yards and five touchdowns on 149 carries and added 29 receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
