Football is back in full force in Southern California as the Los Angeles Rams have begun training camp. Here are some of the top stories from the first few days.
Jared Goff shows his potential, pushes Keenum
Goff has been a fan favorite thus far during the Ram’s training camp at UC Irvine. Late in Tuesday’s practice, the first day of full pads for the offense, Goff hit receiver Nelson Spruce with a beautiful deep ball that gave fans and coaches a glimpse of what kind of player he can develop into. He’s looked great during training camp and has a real chance of taking over for Case Keenum by Week 1. Coach Jeff Fisher said Goff is “progressing well.”
Goff will have to really shine in order to take over the starting job, because Keenum has looked good in camp as well, making several impressive plays during Tuesday’s practice. “I’m doing my job,” Keenum said. “When I’m at quarterback, I’m running the show. It’s my huddle, my squad, my offense and I’m taking ownership of it.”
Robert Quinn slowly returns to form
Quinn participated during team drills on Tuesday. “I’m feeling more and more like my normal self,” said Quinn. “They’re taking their time, making sure I’m healing properly and building my strength back up without trying to overwork me.”
Fisher said there was no rush getting Quinn back into playing form, but Quinn also stated that by Week 1, he should be full go.
Duke Williams impresses
Undrafted rookie Duke Williams impressed players and coaches during Monday’s special teams practice and Tuesday’s offensive practice. “I like Duke,” said cornerback Trumaine Johnson. ”Just a big wide receiver. I like Duke a lot.”
Johnson wasn’t the only one impressed by Duke when the pads came on. “Duke turned it up a little bit,” wide receiver Tavon Austin said. “Duke is kind of a quiet guy; in pads he was loud.” Williams dropped five passes last Sunday, so the past two days have been huge for his confidence and his coaches’ faith in him.
Williams fell from grace at Auburn after multiple team disciplinary violations resulted in him being kicked out of school and left undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft. “Duke came in, knew he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity based on some of the things that happened in his history,” said Fisher. “We gave him the opportunity. He took advantage of it. Went off in the summer, came back, took a lot of weight off.” Williams knows that he’s lucky to be in this position and does not plan on looking back. Williams stated “It’s behind me. I look at life completely different now. All of that stuff, it’s in the past.”
Duke Williams has all the tools to be a successful player in this league, and he may be exactly what the Rams need in their receiving corps. Keep an eye out for him throughout training camp
Tavon Austin injury scare
During Sunday’s practice, Austin waas carted off the field, giving the Rams staff and fans a brief heart attack. It turned out that Austin just cramped up from dehydration, claiming he didn’t eat lunch that day. “The result of that is I made sure I ate today,” Austin joked during Mondays practice. “I’m about to go eat right now to make sure I’m good for tomorrow.”
Tre Mason still MIA
Mason’s bizarre disappearance has caused the Rams to stop worrying about his football career and just simply caring for his well-being. “We’re going to continue to try to reach him to see where he’s at,” Fisher said. Mason has been making strange claims that he was going to call the White House and tell everyone they are going to lose their jobs. He also reportedly told police officers that they were responsible for teaching Al-Qaeda how to fly planes. All we can hope for now is that Mason finds some help.
Steve Rebeiro is a staff writer for Rams Talk and an undergraduate student at Marquette University. For more of his opinions, follow him on Twitter here.
