It was surprising to some to see Ronnie Rivers start at running back for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday versus the San Francisco 49ers instead of Darrell Henderson. After electing to begin the game with Rivers in the backfield, Sean McVay explained why Henderson wasn’t the starter against the 49ers.
It was due to Henderson’s breathing issues at the beginning of the game after experiencing the flu during the week.
Darrell Henderson was "having some breathing issues to start the game" with some aftereffects of his flu, so that's why Ronnie Rivers was the Rams' first ball-carrier yesterday, Sean McVay says.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) October 31, 2022
Rivers began the game with the starting offense and he would finish with 12 total touches for 36 yards while playing on 36 percent of the offensive snaps. Meanwhile, Henderson ended the game with six total touches for 30 yards on 41 percent of the offensive snaps.
Henderson entered Sunday’s game with an illness that caused him to miss practice on Wednesday and log a limited practice session on Thursday. So with the former third-round pick not at 100%, McVay elected to mix in Rivers to give Henderson a decreased workload.
Despite the illness, Henderson still managed to get more snaps than Rivers and Malcolm Brown. With the Rams searching for a spark in the running game, it remains to be seen if Rivers continues to rotate with Henderson and Brown barring a deadline trade.
