Rams’ secondary takes a hit with Derion Kendrick ACL tear

Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick, left, looks to tackle Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin during a game last season at SoFi Stadium. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily ɫ��̳/SCNG)

By Adam Grosbard | agrosbard@scng.com | Southern California ɫ��̳ Group

UPDATED: July 26, 2024 at 8:51 p.m.

Rams coach Sean McVay takes questions from the media after their training camp practice on Thursday at Loyola Marymount. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Rams coach Sean McVay takes questions from the media after their training camp practice on Thursday at Loyola Marymount. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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LOS ANGELES — The Rams’ depth in the secondary suffered a blow at the start of training camp, as cornerback Derion Kendrick tore his ACL toward the end of Wednesday’s opening practice.

Head coach Sean McVay confirmed the injury following Thursday’s practice. The play on which Kendrick suffered the injury seemed innocuous enough. He collided with receiver Tyler Johnson at the line of scrimmage. He came up limping, but was able to make it to the other side of the field without help.

But Kendrick’s season is now likely over before it began as the Rams will look to schedule a surgery in the next couple of weeks.

“I’m really proud of the way that he’s worked, he’s continued to really mature in a lot of different ways,” McVay said. “If there’s one thing you know about this guy, he can handle setbacks.”

Kendrick, a sixth-round draft pick in 2022, was expected to compete for a depth job in the Rams’ defense after the free-agent signings of veterans Tre’Davious White and Darious Williams.

That pair was brought in to raise the floor of the Rams’ secondary. White is a former All-Pro, while Williams was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI roster before spending the last two seasons with Jacksonville.

“Two guys I love bouncing ideas off of,” receiver Cooper Kupp said. “They’ve played a lot of football. … They’re students of the game and it’s fun to have that on the other side of the ball to bounce some things off of each other, see what works and what doesn’t.”

But White is working his way back from an Achilles tear suffered in Week 4 last year. He’s fully cleared to practice, but the Rams don’t want to push him too hard too soon and cause a setback. And Williams came up holding his hamstring after the last play of practice on Thursday.

Which brings a lot of attention to the young guys behind White and Williams, a group that shrunk by one following Kendrick’s injury.

McVay said he’s been happy with their play through the first two days of training camp, particularly with their mental preparation. He pointed to third-year corner Decobie Durant as someone who has shown improvement thus far. Durant had one of the better defensive plays of the day on Thursday, swatting away a pass intended for Kupp.

Beyond that, the options don’t have much in the way of experience. McVay wants to see more from Tre Tomlinson, who had some good moments in joint practices and preseason games a year ago but missed the second half of the offseason program. Shaun Jolly played exclusively on special teams last season. And Michigan’s Josh Wallace and SMU’s Charles Woods are undrafted free agents who might be able to compete for roster spots.

So McVay wouldn’t rule out the possibility of adding another cornerback to the roster prior to the season.

“We have some depth right now,” McVay said. “The thing you want to make sure you don’t do when you get short on that depth is other guys have to pick up the slack and then it can kind of have an accumulation of some workloads that you want to be mindful of.”

One possibility could be Ahkello Witherspoon, who started every game for the Rams last season and remains a free agent.

“I would never eliminate it,” McVay said. “I loved working with Ahkello last year and so that’s definitely something you wouldn’t eliminate.”

DOTSON BACK AT PRACTICE

Starting right guard Kevin Dotson left practice early on Wednesday with a toe injury, but he reported to McVay he was feeling no pain and was able to participate fully in Thursday’s practice.

Originally Published: July 25, 2024 at 8:21 p.m.