The Rams continue their preseason slate with a Week 2 home game against the Texans on Friday at SoFi Stadium. Kickoff in Inglewood, Calif. is scheduled for 7 p.m. pacific time, with the contest being televised locally on KABC-7.
In advance of the contest, here is your first look at Rams-Texans:
Notable Texans additions
- Selected cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. third overall in 2022 NFL Draft. After allowing the 10th-most passing yards per game in the NFL, Houston used its highest pick to address the secondary and get a former LSU All-American in Stingley.
- Selected wide receiver John Metchie III 44th overall in 2022 NFL Draft. The speedy receiver out of Alabama was poised to be a valuable big-play generator in the passing game before announcing in July that he would be sitting out his rookie year after being diagnosed with acurte promyelocytic leukemia.
- Re-signed center Justin Britt to a 2-year deal in March. Bringing back Britt, who originally joined the team on a one-year deal last year, gives stability and continuity for second-year quarterback Davis Mills.
Top performers in 2021
Mills completed 263 of 394 pass attempts for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.
RB Rex Burkhead paced the Texans backfield with 122 carries for 427 yards and three touchdowns.
WR Brandin Cooks led Houston's wide receivers with 90 catches for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns.
OLB Kamu Grugier-Hill registered a defense-leading 108 total tackles, while DE Jonathan Greenard paced the pass rush with 8 sacks. DBs Desmond King and Lonnie Johnson Jr. led the secondary with three interceptions each.
On special teams, K Ka'imi Fairbairn made 15 of 19 field goal attempts and 13 of 16 extra point attempts. P Cameron Johnson averaged 46.7 yards per punt
Early storylines to watch, and what they mean for the Rams
Similar to last week, a lot of the focus will be on who plays – and for how long – for the Rams.
That brings quarterback Bryce Perkins and wide receiver Lance McCutcheon to the top of mind as they look to build off last week's performance against the Chargers. It's also going to be another opportunity for rookie defensive backs Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick and Russ Yeast to get more run.
The Rams also experimented a little bit with offensive line combinations, so it will be interesting to see if that looks similar to Week 1 or if they try more new things like playing Alaric Jackson at both tackle and guard at times.
