Sidelined by the second blood-clot issue of his career, Alaric Jackson moved out of the picture for an extended period this summer. D.J. Humphries resides as the Rams’ emergency left tackle starter, with Jackson not taking part in team drills throughout training camp.
While the Rams spent much of camp trotting out backups at LT and quarterback, the prospect of Jackson being ready to protect Matthew Stafford — who has returned to practice after an extended bout with back trouble — is on the table. Jackson returned to 11-on-11 drills this week, Sean McVay said (via the Los Angeles Times’ Gary Klein).
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McVay voiced an expectation Jackson will be ready for the Rams’ opener, which would represent a significant development considering how long he has been sidelined. The blood-clot diagnosis emerged in mid-June, and while the recently re-signed blocker remained on the Rams’ roster throughout, he had not been cleared for team drills. This led to a Humphries-Warren McClendon competition for the emergency role.
Added on a one-year, $2.5MM deal that came nearly fully guaranteed, Humphries joined the Rams around the time Jackson’s blood-clot issue surfaced. The former Cardinals mainstay did not make much of an impact with the Chiefs last season, suffering an injury in his first assignment and not earning his starting job back. After an apparent 49ers commitment, no deal commenced. That kept Humphries an option to fill in for Jackson. While the eight-year Arizona starter brings considerable experience to the table, his most recent work revealed a substantial quality gap between he and Jackson.
Given a three-year, $57.75MM deal to pass on free agency and stay in Los Angeles, Jackson secured $30MM guaranteed on this contract. He has worked as L.A.’s starting left tackle for the past two seasons, helping the Rams recover from a Joe Noteboom misevaluation as the Andrew Whitworth successor. While Jackson missed eight games due to blood clots in 2022, he returned to win an LT competition over Noteboom.
Jackson began last season serving a two-game suspension but did not miss any more time (beyond a Week 18 rest). If the former UDFA find is not ready for Week 1, his return to practice points to an early-season return.