The Los Angeles Rams have yet to send out many of their starters during their first two preseason games. That is due to head coach Sean McVay not being a fan of risking injury during the preseason.
Via NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk:
“Not to say there’s not an appreciation for what the preseason entails and playing real football,” McVay said. “I think there is a lot of merit to that. But when you look at some of the continuity now that we have on both sides of the ball coming back, and you say, If something were to happen, is it really worth that risk in our mind? We just felt like that answer is no. That’s the approach that we’re taking, I totally understand if people don’t agree with that, but we always make decisions that are in the best interests of our team.
Since becoming the head coach of the Rams in 2017, McVay has been against playing his key starters in the preseason. The likes of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, and Aaron Donald (along with others) are usually seen in street clothes on the sideline.
Most of their starters were told to remain at home in Week 2 of the preseason. The Rams faced the Dallas Cowboys at Aloha Stadium in a historic preseason contest. At first glance, it would be nice to travel to Hawaii but the players realize what the ultimate goal is.
For the people who are opposed to resting starters in the preseason, their reasoning against it is that the team could begin the year with some rust. On the contrary, Los Angeles held out the majority of their starters in their preseason contests in 2018.
In the end, Los Angeles began the year at 8-0 and found themselves in the Super Bowl.
The 33-year-old head coach realizes that the preseason has an important purpose but doesn't believe the reward outweighs the risk. As the Rams intend to make another run at the Lombardi trophy in 2019, the last thing they need is an injury to derail their season.
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