After a clean first few days of camp, the injury bug bit the Rams on Saturday afternoon. Rookie cornerback Robert Rochell and rookie defensive lineman Bobby Brown III both suffered injuries in practice Saturday that will require surgery.
Sean McVay said Rochell injured his wrist trying to punch the ball out and Brown injured his UCL in his thumb. Fortunately for Brown, he’ll be able to cast his hand and be back on the field the week he has surgery, but Rochell’s timetable is much less clear.
“With Rochell, it was kind of a freak little accident. He was going in to punch the ball. He’s going to have wrist surgery on Monday,” McVay said. “Same thing, Bobby Brown III, he got his UCL on his thumb, he’ll have a quick little fix and he’ll be able to come back with Robert. We’ll see what that looks like after the surgery. Once they get in there, we’ll have a better idea of exactly what his timetable for return – talking about Rochell. Bobby, expect him to be back the week of surgery just based on being able to cast it and we’ll see how he progresses accordingly.”
Rochell was a fourth-round pick this year out of Central Arkansas and was expected to be the Rams’ third or fourth cornerback. This is a brutal setback for the athletic rookie as he was just getting started in camp.
He shared the following message on Twitter after suffering his injury.
Ain’t ever stopped jus slowed down. God my energy!
— Robert Rochell (@scootaa11) August 1, 2021
Brown was also a fourth-rounder, selected 13 picks ahead of Rochell at No. 117 overall. He should be a rotational player up front, showing the ability to play any defensive line position. Hopefully the cast doesn’t stunt his development early on because like Rochell, his ceiling is high for a mid-round rookie.
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