Latest news with #L.A.
NBC Sports
8 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Sean McVay: We're 'hopeful and optimistic' LT Alaric Jackson will be able to play
The Rams have some optimism that they'll have their left tackle when the season opens in September. Alaric Jackson has been dealing with blood clots in his lower leg. It's the second time he's dealt with the issue, which caused him to miss the final nine games of the 2022 season. But opening his press conference on Tuesday, McVay said there is a plan in place for Jackson to return to play. 'That's obviously been a unique situation,' McVay said. 'What I think's been great that we've been able to learn is we do have a plan in place that we're confident in that, most importantly, he feels good about, that hopefully leads to him being on the field for us. But we are going to take it a day at a time. He's not going to be on a PUP or NFI list. What he'll be able to do in the meantime is, some individual drills with [the training staff]. Some of that will be with coaches. Some of the jog-throughs. The actual physical stuff, he will not partake in right now. And we'll just take it a day at a time with something of this nature. 'But I do feel good about the plan we have in place that hopefully leads to him being able to go out there and compete with his teammates. I know he is really feeling good. He's handled this like a total stud. And I think the perspective that this stuff gives you, where it's about the human being first and foremost, but he's got a lot of people that love him that are with him on this journey and we're excited to be able to take it a day at a time with him.' Asked as a follow-up if it's on the table for Jackson to be ready when the season starts, McVay said he wasn't ruling anything out. 'What I also don't want to do, and hopefully you can understand this, is set expectations on something that we are in the process of learning,' McVay said. 'We have a plan in place that, if things go according to plan, feel like that is a very real possibility. But, again, this is the first time that I've navigated through anything like this with a player. You start to realize there's a lot of guys that have been able to be in great situations, even though they've had to overcome some similar issues. 'So, the answer is we're hopeful and optimistic. But what I don't want to do is set expectations when there's a lot of things that could happen. But taking it a day at a time is what's going to be the right approach for all of us from a mental perspective and physically for Alaric.' Jackson signed a three-year, $57 million deal to stick with the Rams this offseason. After Jackson's blood clots were found, L.A. added veteran D.J. Humphries to a one-year deal. Jackson has started 35 games for the Rams over the last three seasons.
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Reporter suggests Lakers should trade LeBron James if they start slowly
After plenty of buzz earlier this month that LeBron James would perhaps ask to be traded, it now appears that, in all likelihood, he will remain a member of the Lakers, at least through the start of the new NBA season. He decided to exercise the player option on his contract for the 2025-26 campaign, and for several reasons, it would be next-to-impossible to work out a trade where his destination team would have enough remaining talent to compete for the NBA championship. However, that reality hasn't entirely eliminated the trade buzz surrounding the 40-year-old. John Hollinger of The Athletic suggested that it would be a good idea for the Lakers to trade James before this winter's trade deadline if they don't start off the season well. "While he opted in to the final year of his contract and does not appear to be an imminent trade candidate, as our Joe Vardon and Dan Woike reported here, that doesn't necessarily mean returning to the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year deal was at the top of his wish list," Hollinger wrote. "In particular, the whispers about him having eyes for Dallas — a place where he could have teamed up with former teammates Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and young phenom Cooper Flagg — before opting into his deal were hard to ignore. "... Nonetheless, this situation bears watching from both sides, particularly if L.A. starts the regular season slowly. The Lakers set themselves up to have max cap room next summer once James' salary comes off their books, taking advantage of an artificially low cap hold for Austin Reaves. If that's their angle, wouldn't it make sense to cash in their James stock if they aren't challenging at the top of the West?" The Lakers have somewhat quietly and gradually improved their roster after losing in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They signed up-and-coming forward Jake LaRavia and center Deandre Ayton and have gotten an agreement from former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. Those three men should offset the loss of 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who joined the Houston Rockets. While L.A. doesn't appear to be a true championship contender, it could be a top-four team in the Western Conference, and it may not be done making moves. Despite all the talk about the franchise wanting to keep lots of salary cap space clear for the next two summers, it doesn't appear to be looking to punt this coming season.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Two Lakers frontcourt players are healthier than they were last season
The Los Angeles Lakers' roster looks significantly stronger than it did when they were knocked out of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. While they lost key 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith, they added forward Jake LaRavia and center Deandre Ayton, and they're set to bring in veteran guard Marcus Smart once he clears waivers. Some Lakers fans have been hoping the team can trade away big man Maxi Kleber and perhaps forward Jarred Vanderbilt in return for one or two more useful players. Doing so will be difficult, because while both players will only make roughly $11 million this coming season, they probably aren't seen as productive players around the league. But there could be a trickle of optimism that both will contribute in a positive way for Los Angeles. Per Marc Stein's "Stein Line," both Vanderbilt and Kleber are healthier now than they were at any time this past season. 'I'm also hearing Jarred Vanderbilt is healthier now than he was at any point last season, which will naturally spark hope that the versatile forward seems like an offseason addition himself when training camp opens in late September,' Stein wrote. 'Ditto for Maxi Kleber, who made only one appearance — for five minutes in Game 5 of the Lakers' first-round exit to Minnesota — after he was shipped to Lakerland with [Luka] Dončić on Feb. 2.' Vanderbilt has been hampered by injuries the last two seasons and appeared in a total of just 65 games during that time. He suffered a foot injury midway through the 2023-24 season that forced him to sit out for almost a full calendar year. While he's an effective and versatile defender and energy player, he's extremely limited on offense. Perhaps the fact that he's healthy this summer will allow him to work on his 3-point shot. For his career, he has made just 28.8% of his 3-point attempts, and opposing teams routinely leave him wide open in the corners. In the past, Kleber has been a decent outside shooter and defender, and at 6-foot-10, he can play the 4 and 5 positions. But he suffered a foot injury shortly before coming to L.A., and before that, he shot a putrid 38.5% overall and 26.5% from downtown this past season. In seven previous seasons, he made a solid 35.7% of his attempts from beyond the arc. If he returns to form, he could be a nice backup center for L.A. and perhaps even more ahead of Jaxson Hayes on its depth chart at that position.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Why this Rams WR doesn't wear his Super Bowl ring
The Los Angeles Rams won their first Super Bowl in more than two decades in 2021 thanks to a lot of different contributors. Matthew Stafford was obviously the biggest, but there were plenty of other players who earned a Super Bowl ring thanks to what they did both in the regular season and in the playoffs. But one ex-Rams player doesn't like to wear his Super Bowl ring in the years following the victory. Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson, who only played seven games for L.A. in 2021, said the ring the Rams game him is a "bittersweet situation," on a recent episode of "All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson." 'It's a bittersweet situation," Jackson said. "I ain't even play in the game." Early in the conversation, Jackson said Rams coach Sean McVay brought him to L.A. to fill the deep threat role vacated by Brandin Cooks. However, Jackson didn't see a lot of action during his seven games with the team. He only caught eight receptions for 221 yards and one touchdown on 15 targets. Jackson and the Rams parted ways midway through the season and he finished the year with the Las Vegas Raiders. The team still gave Jackson a ring, though Jackson added that his contribution to the team won't be a defining element of his career because of it. Jackson played 15 years in the league, mostly for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished with 641 receptions for 11,263 yards and 58 touchdowns.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Rams' Kobie Turner has this game circled on 2025 schedule
Kobie Turner already knows which game he's looking forward to most on the teams' 2025 regular-season schedule. The Los Angeles Rams' defensive tackle told NFL Network's The Insiders recently that he's been excited for a rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 since he saw when the game would take place. "I've had that loss in the back of my mind for a while," Turner said. "Obviously, it's on to a new season and on to continue to progress, but I definitely have — I believe it's Week 3 — circled. I mean, even in the individual training right now, we're breaking down, 'OK, this is how some of the guys, some of the offensive linemen for the Eagles, this is how they block, and this is how we're going to defeat that.'" L.A. lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions twice in 2024: First in Week 12 and then by just six points in the NFC Divisional Round. The defense played a big role in both defeats after giving up 599 combined rushing yards in those two games, 460 of which from the legs of running back Saquon Barkley. "So, I mean, ultimately, the thing that really got us last year is there's a couple of big runs," Turner added. "We stopped the run for the most part, handled it really well, but a couple of those runs where we didn't fit it up right, where Saquon was able to get to the second level fast, and he's super dangerous there. So at the end of the day, it's about getting Saquon down, and that's what we're gonna do a lot better of this year, making sure that we stop the run on the run." To combat this, the Rams upgraded their defensive front with the addition of nose tackle Poona Ford. L.A. also drafted Ohio State defensive tackle Ty Hamilton in the fifth round to add to the team's depth. Turner doesn't want to continue to dwell on the past, but he didn't deny he's excited for a shot at revenge so early in the season. "I'm just super excited to be able to run that back," he said. "Obviously those guys are Super Bowl champs, they won it, they deserve it and whatnot, but this year's a new year, and man, we definitely have that game circled, I definitely have that game circled, and I'm super excited to get another crack at those guys."
