Los Angeles Rams safety Jordan Fuller is expected to miss two to four weeks due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the team’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. He had been one of the Rams’ top contributors on defense and seemed to be hitting his stride before exiting the Week 4 tilt.
In his absence, Taylor Rapp will see more snaps in the secondary and should have a chance to make a significant impact for the team. With a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on the horizon, Rapp will need to adjust to the increased workload quickly and could be a pivotal part of the defense’s game plan if quarterback Dak Prescott makes his first appearance of the season in Week 5.
Fuller had been a critical fixture in the Rams’ defense and managed to force a fumble against the 49ers before exiting the game with the injury. A sixth-round selection in the 2020 draft, he had been slowly working his way into the starting role before this season and seemed to be turning a corner in his development.
Now, he faces the possibility that Rapp will un-seat him as the team’s starting strong safety. It is said that in the NFL the best ability is availability, and given Rapp’s proven ability to force turnovers, the time Fuller misses over the next few weeks could prove to doom his chances of seeing significant playing time in the future.
After playing collegiately at the Ohio State University, Fuller burst onto the scene last year, starting in 16 games for Los Angeles in his second year as a professional. His impressive counting stats made for rampant speculation that he might become one of the premier players at the safety position in the NFL, and his presence in the secondary will be sorely missed by the Rams as they look to get back into first place in the NFC West.
