Rams “couple weeks away” from much-needed help at TE

Tyler Higbee nearing a return for Rams. Free agent signing Colby Parkinson has been disappointing.

There has been no bigger disappointment on the Los Angeles Rams’ 2024 roster than the tight end room, though Tyler Higbee is returning to health and could soon reinforce that group.

According to head coach Sean McVay, Higbee is just “a couple weeks away” from re-joining the team. The veteran TE tore his ACL and MCL in last year’s wildcard round loss to the Detroit Lions and has sat out the season so far while he rehabilitates.

This is welcomed news for the Rams, who are getting very little out of the tight ends currently.

LA signed former Seattle Seahawks TE Colby Parkinson in this spring’s free agency period. However, the Rams are now finding out there was a reason why Parkinson was Seattle’s third-string TE behind both Noah Fant and Will Dissly. Based on the Rams’ most recent game against the Miami Dolphins, Parkinson is now solidly behind second-year Davis Allen on the depth chart and he barely outsnapped rarely-used veteran Hunter Long (11 to 9).

On the season Parkinson has caught 23 of 36 targets for 214 yards. He’s yet to score a touchdown as a member of the Rams, and that is an extreme disappointment and hints towards LA’s larger red zone struggles. It’s almost hard not to catch a touchdown at this point in the season with a 6-7, 265 lbs. frame.

Allen has six catches on 11 targets for 39 yards, so he’s not exactly lighting up the stat sheet either. Long has received five targets—to his credit catching all of them—and has 43 receiving yards.

Based on this group’s performance so far in 2024, Higbee should step in as the immediate starter once he’s healthy enough for such a workload. The Rams almost certainly don’t have a more capable option right now.