LOS ANGELES — Standing on the sidelines during the second quarter of Sunday’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Rams rookie offensive lineman Justin Dedich got a tap on the shoulder from position coach Ryan Wendell.
Man down, time to take the field. As he ran out there, he saw left guard Logan Bruss hurrying to the sidelines, a finger pointed in an artificial angle. That was as much as Dedich was able to process as he arrived at the huddle.
“There’s really no time to think. Just run out there and before I knew it, I’m like, ‘Holy [expletive], I’m out here,’” Dedich said.
The undrafted rookie out of USC voiced that thought out loud, but soon had to pay attention to the play call. He was only on the field for two snaps before Bruss returned, but Dedich made the most of them and helped the Rams keep moving forward for their first touchdown drive of the game.
The first play was a simple enough assignment. Pass protection, center Beaux Limmer slid down to help with defensive tackle Kevin Givens, but when Givens went outside, it left Dedich alone with him man-to-man. He won that rep, allowing quarterback Matthew Stafford to complete a short pass to tight end Colby Parkinson.
The next play was a screen pass to the left flat, and Dedich was able to seal off Givens to allow Jordan Whittington to pick up a first down.
“Came in, probably hadn’t had any reps with that screen,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “They ended up bringing a fire zone and he ended up kind of snatching the guy that was looping for contain and it ended up allowing us to be able to get the screen going and then had a good block on a play [action] pass. … It was cool for Justin to step in there and he didn’t blink.”
Dedich, who had spent the week practicing at center after being signed to the active roster off the practice squad, confirmed that was his first time running that screen pass.
“Good thing I paid attention in meetings,” Dedich joked. “But a lot of this sport is like a feel thing. So it was brand new to me. Luckily, I had Beaux and [left tackle] Alaric [Jackson] next to me. When I came in the huddle, all of those guys made it pretty calming, like, ‘Ok, let’s go to work.’ I just kind of settled down.”
“I thought it was seamless,” Limmer said. “It’s a testament to how he watches film and how he takes mental reps during practice. When he got his name called, he was ready.”
Dedich might have calmed down during his reps, but when he was called off the field, he was flexing his muscles, bouncing up and down as he went back to the sideline, as teammates and coaches matched his energy welcoming him back.
“Adrenaline was through the roof. It kind of just hit me, I just played in an NFL game,” Dedich said. “Childhood dream come true.”
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Injury report
Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (left ankle sprain) was out of his cast and doing rehab drills by the weight room following the team’s walk through on Wednesday. Kupp, who has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears (1-2), was working out alongside receiver Puka Nacua (PCL sprain), who had a compression sleeve on his left leg.
Tight end Davis Allen returned to practice on Wednesday as a limited participant. Allen missed the last two games and was held out of practice last week with back spasms.
Sunday’s game will mark the fourth missed by cornerback Darious Williams (hamstring) since being placed on injured reserve. Players are required to miss a minimum of four games on IR, but McVay said the Rams haven’t yet discussed opening Williams’ practice window.
“I do know this, he’s making good progress,” McVay said. “As far as when he’ll be able to return, I have not decided that.”