The Los Angeles Rams are coming off a tough loss to the San Fransico 49ers on Thursday Night Football. During the in-division matchup, the Rams were dealt some tough injury news.
Omar Speights, the Rams' starting inside linebacker, was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. He's expected to miss Week 6 against the Baltimore Ravens. Los Angeles needs to find Speights' replacement.
According to a report from Cameron DaSilva of The Rams Wire, Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed the two options competing for the starting spot for Los Angeles in Week 6.
The Rams are hosting a linebacker competition for Omar Speights' replacement
Two linebackers are in this competition: veteran Troy Reeder and undrafted free agent rookie Shaun Dolac. Both have logged some time with the team this season, but McVay is allowing for competition points to Dolac, having a real chance for the starting spot.
"You'll see Troy and Dolac be able to split up those reps," McVay said at Wednesday's practice. Both Dolac and Reeder will split first-team reps in Speight's spot on defense.
Normally, Reeder, the veteran who's spent time with the Rams for multiple seasons, would be the surefire starter. But this decision from McVay opens the door for Dolac to earn the starting linebacker spot for the Rams' Week 6 matchup against the Ravens.
So far in 2025, Dolac has made 13 tackles with limited work. The 24-year-old rookie out of Buffalo was a Consensus All-American in 2024, and he had multiple impressive performances in his best collegiate season.
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While he went undrafted, there was some intrigue with him as a UDFA. He signed with the Rams, and now, he has a chance to earn the starting spot for the Rams just six weeks into his NFL career.
Even though it might be for one week, as he's only temporarily replacing Speights, he could put an impressive performance on his resume, earning more opportunities going forward.
In comparison, the 31-year-old Reeder is in his 7th NFL season, the last two of which have come with the Rams. In 2024, he had 46 tackles with one pass defended and one tackle for loss.
While he's bounced around the league, his time with the Rams hasn't amounted to a lot of starting opportunities. But he's a solid backup linebacker and is a strong candidate to replace Speights for Week 6.
But, Dolac is getting a fair chance at the starting spot, as both he and Reeder compete for the starting linebacker spot heading into Week 6. With the Rams in need of a win to bounce back from their rough Week 5 performance, the player McVay goes with as the starter will be an interesting one.
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