The Los Angeles Rams announced their initial 53-man roster for the 2025 season, which surprisingly did not include fifth-round draft pick Pooh Paul Jr.
Paul was among the team’s most notable cuts on Tuesday, along with Tru Edwards, Tanner Ingle, Derion Kendrick, Brennan Jackson, Brennan Pressley, Ronnie Rivers, Cody Schrader, Drake Stoops and Charles Woods.
The Rams decided to carry only four inside linebackers on their roster to begin the year, including starters Nate Landman and Omar Speights. Troy Reeder and undrafted rookie Shaun Dolac earned the other spots, which left Paul out of the picture.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said the decision to cut Paul had more to do with their needs on special teams rather than his talent as a linebacker, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“What we are tasked to do is be able to evaluate what we think, when we went with four inside linebackers, what do we think are the four best inside linebackers?” McVay explained. “And that’s not exclusive to playing inside linebacker. Part of that is playing special teams. And Shaun Dolac’s a guy that’s going to be able to play on all four phases, Troy Reeder is gonna play on all four phases. And so when you look at Landman and Omar Speights as your starting inside linebackers when you’re in your two backer defenses, those third and four spots are heavily dictated and determined by where do you create value, not exclusive to the inside linebacker position. And it’s not anything to take away from Pooh, because I got respect, love (for him) and wish him nothing but the best, but those two guys made themselves really important, and that’s why they’ll have a jersey on game day.”
While McVay’s explanation is understandable, it was still shocking that the Rams opted to cut Paul considering they traded two sixth-round picks to move up in the 2025 NFL Draft to select him.
Paul was limited by a calf injury at the start of training camp but still managed to play in all three of the Rams’ preseason games.
It unfortunately appears that he did not show enough in practice to warrant a roster spot, but Paul is just beginning his NFL career and will now look for a fresh start elsewhere.
Pooh Paul Jr. signs to Seahawks practice squad
Paul went unclaimed on waivers but it did not take him long to find a new home. According to multiple reports and later announced by the team, he has signed to the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad.
It isn’t clear if the Rams offered him a spot on their practice squad, but Paul will now look to continue his development with one of L.A.’s biggest rivals.
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