Left Guard Steve Avila had been a standout in Rams camp

Johnson spent four years with the Rams from 2017-2020 He played the last two years with the Browns, which weren’t his best seasons as a pro. But he’s looking to rebound in his seventh NFL season with a team he’s very familiar with. 

Left Guard Steve Avila (Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

By Earl Heath

Contributing Sports Writer

 

The Los Angeles Rams will open the play for the 2023-24 season against the neighbors across the hall LA Chargers. 

Coming off a horrid 5-12 season the team has a lot of young talent including QB Stetson Bennett. 

Demarcus Robinson WR and Ahkello Witherspoon CB have both had a good camp. Robinson is on pace to be the No. 3 receiver, while Witherspoon is in line to be a starter at cornerback. – especially with Derion Kendrick taking care of an injury. 

They recently acquired former RAM DB Johnny Johnson. 

Johnson spent four years with the Rams from 2017-2020 He played the last two years with the Browns, which weren’t his best seasons as a pro. But he’s looking to rebound in his seventh NFL season with a team he’s very familiar with. 

“It’s great to be able to have him back. Really, just another really good player. Obviously was here from the start of when we got here in ’17, was a foundational piece,” McVay said. “To be able to get a guy that’s familiar with the culture, has played a lot of really good football. He’s gonna come in and he’s gonna continue to compete and earn everything just like everybody else. But we felt it was a chance to be able to upgrade our secondary, upgrade the depth of our safety room. I’m looking forward to getting him out here. He got out here in individual and a couple of plays in 7-on-7, but we’ll continue to get him acclimated smartly and we’ll see what that looks like but it’s great to have JJ back.” 

Top pick Steve Avila has stepped up big time and shown progress daily. The left guard hasn’t been named the Rams’ starter yet but he’s appears to be locking things up. He’s listed as the starter on the initial depth chart, which is a great sign, and there isn’t a ton of competition for that spot. 

“This is really a fun group to work with,” said head coach Sean McVay.” They come out and try to get better every day.”