While the Los Angeles Rams have been fairly healthy this season, they’ve had some players at key positions suffer injuries in recent weeks, so they’ll need backups to step up.
That list of injured players includes right guard Kevin Dotson, who suffered an ankle injury in Thursday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Week 15.
Justin Dedich stepped up in Dotson’s place and played the remainder of the game, and if Dotson misses time, Dedich will likely continue holding down that spot. However, the Rams felt it necessary to sign another offensive lineman, so they added Royce Newman to their practice squad.
Newman, 28, played collegiately at Ole Miss from 2016-20 before the Green Bay Packers took him in the fourth round (No. 142 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft.
The former Rebel appeared in 52 games and started 24 for the Packers from 2021-23, but he failed to make the 53-man roster out of camp in the final season of his rookie deal.
He spent the 2024 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, appearing in one game. This year, he’s had stints with the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears, but he never saw real game action.
More Rams: Another insider expects Rams to shut down Davante Adams until playoffs