Biggest offseason change for Rams first 5 opponents

Who will be the new faces on the Rams schedule to open the season?

The teams on the Rams’ 2024 schedule will look familiar but some of the players and coaches will be different. Who are the most important new faces on L.A.’s schedule in the first five weeks?

Week 1 – Houston Texans

Biggest offseason change: Replaced OC Bobby Slowik with Nick Caley (McVay tree)

One year after he was one of the hottest head coach interview candidates, Slowik was let go from his position as the Texans offensive coordinator after a disappointing 2024 season. The Texans didn’t necessarily fall off of a cliff from 2023, but the context of the previous season was that they were pretty good (13th in scoring, 12th in yards, fewest turnovers) with a rookie quarterback.

But C.J. Stroud showed no progress and even took a step back last season.

The Texans went the extreme route, firing Slowik before he got another day with Stroud and hiring off of the Sean McVay tree: Nick Caley will be the offensive coordinator in 2025 after a two-year stint with the Rams. Stroud says he buys into Caley “the person” because “he has the most juice I’ve ever seen in my life”.

Caley had spent the previous eight seasons working for Bill Belichick in New England.

Houston has also overhauled their receiving corps, another disappointment from last season, by trading for Christian Kirk and drafting two day two picks who were teammates in college:

• Jayden Higgins, round 2
• Jaylin Noel, round 3

They’ve also acquired Braxton Berrios and Justin Watson.

Elsewhere on offense, the Texans had to add Cam Robinson as a replacement at left tackle for the injured Laremy Tunsil; signed Nick Chubb to spell Joe Mixon at running back; signed Laken Tomlinson to compete as the new left guard; signed safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency; added defensive line veterans Sheldon Rankins and Darrell Taylor.

Other new tackles on the team include second round pick Aireontae Ersery and veteran Trent Brown.

Week 2 – Tennessee Titans

Biggest offseason change: Drafted QB Cam Ward with first pick

In spite of a 3-14 season, the Titans didn’t make any major coaching changes because they expect big things from Brian Callahan, who was just hired last year. However, Callahan could be on the hot seat if the Titans look as bad as they did in 2024, so they’ve turned a corner at quarterback by drafting Cam Ward to replace Will Levis and Mason Rudolph; that duo combined for 21 interceptions last season compared to 22 touchdowns.

There has to be some question if Ward will be ready to step in from Week 1 and lead an NFL offense, but it seems like Callahan is going to start him anyway.

The Titans have added former Rams receiver Van Jefferson and former Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett to complement Calvin Ridley, and signed two new starters on the offensive line in tackle Dan Moore Jr. and guard Kevin Zeitler.

The Titans were 27th in scoring last year, can Callahan get them into the top-20 with these changes?

Defensively, the Titans have added veterans DE Dre’Mont Jones and LB Cody Barton, as well as S Xavier Woods. But they might look a lot of the same on defense.

Week 3 – Philadelphia Eagles

Biggest offseason change: Won’t have LB Nakobe Dean

This is the best I could do because the reigning Super Bowl champions will look almost exactly the same as they did last season. Plenty could change in the next two months, but for now they’re basically still the 2024 Eagles.

Even losing OC Kellen Moore to the Saints won’t change them much because replacement Kevin Patullo was Philadelphia’s passing game coordinator over the previous four years.

Nakobe Dean was a pivotal player on the Eagles defense last season, finishing second on the team in tackles (128) with three sacks, two forced turnovers, and nine tackles for a loss. But Dean tore his patellar tendon in the playoffs and that means he won’t be himself for a while.

Now here’s the kicker: The Eagles drafted a star linebacker in the first round because of course they did.

It’s unclear for Jihaad Campbell (shoulder surgery) will be ready for the start of the season either, but the Eagles have options. They drafted Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in 2024 and Smael Mondon in the fifth round.

Other new Eagles include Azeez Ojulari, Adoree’ Jackson, Josh Uche, Dorian Tompson-Robinson, A.J. Dillon, Kenyon Green, Terrace Marshall, Kendall Lamm, Matt Pryor, Harrison Bryant, and Kylen Granson. They’ve also drafted safety Andrew Mukuba in the second round and made eight picks on day two.

Week 4 – Indianapolis Colts

Biggest offseason change: Put Anthony Richardson in a battle (that he will probably lose)

There will be many times over the next eight months when Richardson could solidify himself as the worst pick since Trey Lance. He could lose to Daniel Jones. He could be traded for peanuts. He could be released. And given his extensive injury history, he could suffer another unfortunate ailment that causes his career to end.

He could quit football for rap.

Richardson has been one of the worst throwers of the football in modern NFL history. He set a precedent by tapping out of a game for being tired. He’s actually everything he should have been expected to be after an iffy three-year career (two as a backup, one as an inaccurate starter) at Florida.

The Colts will almost certainly hand the job over to Jones, a quarterback who similar to Richardson lost his job shortly after a significant team commitment, only in his case it was a Giants extension.

Jones has thrown 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions over the past two seasons (16 games) and is in the lead to be Indy’s new starter.

Richardson had a shoulder ailment, but says he will be ready for training camp. However, being physically ready is a lot different than being mentally ready. And Richardson has yet to prove he can handle what it takes to make it in the NFL at the most difficult position.

The Colts actually have most of the same starters as last season at other positions (further solidifying that the front office only saw one huge problem on the team in 2024) but have added first round tight end Tyler Warren, cornerback Charvarius Ward, and safety Cam Bynum.

Week 5 – San Francisco 49ers

Biggest offseason change: Robert Saleh is back at DC

After an extremely underwhelming four year stint with the New York Jets, Saleh has returned to where he made a name for himself as the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017-2020. Saleh had back-to-back top-5 defenses in 2019 and 2020 prior to being hired by the Jets.

And although his personnel was not always the best, the Jets actually ranked top-4 in yards allowed in each of the past three seasons.

The 49ers are looking to get back to their defensive glory days (San Francisco fell from 3rd in points allowed in 2023 to 29th under Nick Sorensen in 2024) and Saleh will lead that charge.

Although the 49ers traded Deebo Samuel, the offense will look almost exactly the same if everyone is healthy. The team is hoping for a return by Brandon Aiyuk and a breakout season for 2024 first round pick Ricky Pearsall. They also added former Ram Demarcus Robinson.

Defensively, the team pushed hard on defensive line by acquiring Bryce Huff from the Eagles and drafting edge Mykel Williams with their first pick and defensive tackle Alfred Collins with their second. The 49ers also drafted linebacker Nick Martin in the third, corner Upton Stout in the third, defensive tackle C.J. West in the fourth, and safety Marques Sigle in the fifth. San Francisco is looking for someone to step up to replace Charvarius Ward at corner, but that seems the least of Saleh’s concerns.

Another small but noticeable change will be the addition of punter Thomas Morstead after the 49ers released Mitch Wishnowsky, a punter they drafted in the fourth round in 2019.