THOUSAND OAKS — The Rams are in a peculiar position, one that most teams would welcome, with their surplus of talented wide receivers.

Jacob Harris’ upside and Lance McCutcheon’s preseason performances have forced the Rams to contemplate whether to keep eight wide receivers on their 53-man roster. The two big-body receivers have made it interesting, but they still have plenty to prove before cutdown day arrives on Aug. 30.

The Rams’ starting trio is set with Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson, and the second trio might be Tutu Atwell, Ben Skowronek and Brandon Powell, the team’s standout return specialist. The latter three wideouts received first-team snaps during Monday’s practice with Kupp getting a rest day and Jefferson sidelined with a knee injury.

The 6-foot-5 Harris and the 6-3 McCutcheon are behind on the depth chart, but there might be a line of teams waiting to claim them on waivers if the Rams decide it’s better to keep a balanced roster.

“It’s realistic, but you can’t be satisfied,” McCutcheon said of possibly making the 53-man roster. “At the end of the day, I’m still an undrafted free agent. Still gotta compete week in and week out.”

McCutcheon has 11 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason games. The rookie flashed his upside last week when he executed an impressive route against Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., the third overall pick in this year’s draft, for a 22-yard reception.

“Lance is balling right now,” said Harris, a second-year player. “It’s awesome to see him because coming in right away, he was turning heads. We saw it in practice, and once we got to training camp, we saw it there, too.”

Harris had a quiet training camp because he was sidelined for a few weeks with a knee injury. He returned to practice last week and displayed his versatility, especially after he delivered a memorable block on a Texans defender to set up one of McCutcheon’s catches.

“I think sometimes the opportunities were limited, but he put a hell of a shot on (Texans’) Rasheem Green coming across on that keeper,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “That was a violent collision, but he’s a tough guy. He’s got great speed and he’s got a great demeanor every single day. It was good to be able to get him back out and get some reps in both phases.”

Harris’ chances of making the roster increased after the Rams waived tight end Kendall Blanton on Saturday. The team is now thin at the position, but Harris is capable of helping because he played tight end before switching positions this year.

McCutcheon’s path to cracking the final roster is by contributing on special teams, and he improved in that area against the Texans.

“There’s some things that he can still learn on how to play through the lens that (special teams coordinator) Joe DeCamillis and (special teams assistant) Coach (Jeremy) Springer are looking for, but like anything else, he’s a young player,” McVay said. “But I think you can’t deny the fact that he showed up again. Made the plays that he was asked to make.”

RAMSEY, JONES OUT WITH ILLNESS

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Ernest Jones didn’t practice Monday because of a stomach bug, according to McVay.

“Not feeling well,” McVay said. “They have a little stomach bug. I guess it’s kinda going around right now. I want to be smart with those guys.”

McVay expressed optimism about Ramsey and Jones traveling with the team Tuesday for the two joint practices in Cincinnati ahead of Saturday’s preseason finale against the Bengals.

WILLIAMS TO MAKE PRESEASON DEBUT

Rookie running back Kyren Williams will participate in the joint practices with the Bengals and he’s expected to make his preseason debut on Saturday, McVay said.

Williams, the team’s fifth-round pick, returned to team drills last week after being eased into practices. He missed the first two weeks of training because of the foot injury he sustained in June.

Williams has seen a heavy workload the past week, because starting running backs Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson have been sidelined with soft-tissue injuries, according to McVay.

“We’re just taking it a day at a time,” McVay said of Akers and Henderson. “I know those guys want to be out here and so do we. We want them out there and they need to be able to get out there and get the work, but not at the expense of setting themselves back even further. It truly is a day-to-day thing.”

SHELTON DEALING WITH SWELLING

Starting right guard Coleman Shelton didn’t practice Monday because of swelling in his lower extremity. McVay declined to say whether it was a knee injury.

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Tremayne Anchrum and AJ Jackson rotated as the right guard for the first-team offense during 11-on-11 drills. The Rams are now thin at guard with Shelton sidelined and rookie Logan Bruss out for the regular season with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.

“Coleman had a little swelling,” McVay said. “He’ll be OK.”

NO FIGHTING

McVay said he and Bengals coach Zac Taylor are aiming for a productive week of practice without fights. The teams that reached Super Bowl LVI are scheduled for joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday.

“With Zac and I having worked together, we have the same sort of practice philosophy,” McVay said. “The goal is to get good work in. Positively push one another. We don’t want any sort of cheap stuff. It’s not like they’re game-planning. We’re not game-planning. … We have no place for fighting. We have to be able to get two good days of work and these opportunities really matter and we can’t afford to miss it for dumb (expletive).”

Aaron Donald making #Rams DL coach Eric Henderson work

It’s been fun watching their partnership. So much mutual respect and trust pic.twitter.com/Ir3FfO1Rhc

— Gilbert Manzano (@GManzano24) August 22, 2022