Expanding a note from the “Ugly” section of our Minnesota game recap, the current Rams’ depth chart at cornerback is nothing short of frightening. With both Jerome Murphy (ankle sprain, out for a week according to Sando) and Kevin Dockery (hip pointer, “day to day” says Spagnuolo), the Rams’ DBs have been decimated. So who’s left? Enough players to field a “dime” defense?
I put the question — who’s our starting pair right now? — out on Twitter, and it took nine guesses from six Rams fans before we got the right answer.
SmiFF620 @RamsHerd Aren’t our only CBs left HEALTHY Quincy Butler & Marquis Johnson & Thompson (I 4got his 1st name)?
Just about, yes. The Rams’ roster also lists #26 Martin Harris, an undrafted rookie who has gotten scarce playing time — up until now, at least. [Edit: oops! no it doesn’t. cache refresh is not my friend…]
But our starting pair right now would be Quincy Butler and Marquis Johnson: an undrafted camp tryout player from last year who battled his way to a rotation role, and the last Rams player selected in this year’s draft.
(Honorable mentions go to @Lowe81, @PedroRabbit, @RamsOnDemand, @Anthowatson, and @sarge16, who just barely missed the buzzer with the correct response.)
Fortunately, most of these injuries appear to be relatively minor. Here’s a rundown of our CB depth chart and their infirmities, after the break:
| CB1 | 24-Ron Bartell | “Low” ankle sprain (which is much better than a high ankle strain), day to day. Thought to be very serious but “healing quickly.” Hasn’t played since August 3. |
|---|---|---|
| CB2 | 31-Justin King | Strained calf. Called a “soft tissue” injury, day to day. Hasn’t played since August 6. |
| CB3 | 32-Bradley Fletcher | Knee surgery rehab. Has been limited since August 6. Could be ready to play this week versus Cleveland. |
| CB4 | 23-Jerome Murphy | Low ankle sprain. Suffered in Saturday’s preseason opener. Expected to be out this week. |
| CB5 | 36-Quincy Butler | Healthy! |
| CB6 | 35-Kevin Dockery | Hip pointer. Suffered in Saturday’s preseason opener. Considered “day to day,” but not expected to practice this week. |
| CB7 | 25-Marquis Johnson | Healthy! (and apparently just recovered from his own knee injury.) |
| CB8 | 41-Antoine Thompson | Healthy! |
| CB9 | 26-Martin Harris | Healthy! |
Of our four healthy corners, only Quincy Butler has actually seen a regular season NFL snap. All I can say is “get well soon” to everyone else on this list.
