Rams hope reinforcements and resilience can lift injury-filled offensive line vs. Cardinals

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams had to completely reconfigure their offensive line because of injuries during a 26-20 overtime loss at the Detroit Lions.

With a few days to process the situation and bring in reinforcements, the Rams (0-1) expect to be in better shape when they visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

“I thought the guys did a great job of fighting and grinding and trying to claw one out,” said right tackle Rob Havenstein, who missed the season opener because of an ankle injury. “Obviously there’s stuff to clean up and get better at, but for the guys in there, they were fighting. There was no letdown.”

Havenstein was limited Thursday but is optimistic he can be back in the starting lineup and begin his 10th season with the Rams this week.

“Feeling good, ready to go,” he said. “Just gotta clean up some technique stuff. Luckily, it’s Thursday, and it’s not us playing tonight.”

Havenstein would be a welcome addition after the Rams lost left guard Steve Avila and swing tackle Joe Noteboom to knee and ankle injuries against the Lions. Both were put on injured reserve Wednesday.

Right guard Kevin Dotson sustained a foot injury in Detroit and missed his second straight practice, putting his availability in question. Left tackle Alaric Jackson has to complete a two-game suspension this week.

Those absences had the Rams loading up on reinforcements this week. They signed rookie Dylan McMahon off the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad and free agent Geron Christian on Wednesday after bringing back 38-year-old Ty Nsekhe one day prior.

McMahon, a sixth-round pick out of N.C. State, found out about his new destination late on Monday night and has been working tirelessly since arriving in town to get up to speed.

“There’s some familiar faces around the locker room,” McMahon said. “Got a decent amount of N.C. State presence around here, and just some of the guys I’ve gone through the draft process with, like (rookie center) Beaux (Limmer). I know Beaux just from the combine and draft process and everything, so it’s been good. Everyone’s willing to help out and learning the offense has been good.”

McMahon, who had a solid offseason in Philadelphia but got caught in a numbers crunch at roster cutdowns, was not watching the game on Sunday night when Rams head coach Sean McVay had to tear up his game plan as the bumps and bruises piled up.

McVay turned to quick passes and other avenues to help the likes of Limmer and practice squad call-up AJ Arcuri at tackle. It nearly worked as the Rams scored 17 straight points in the second half to take a late lead.

As McMahon reviewed film of the game this week, he said the level of preparedness across the offensive line stood out.

“At the end of the day, when stuff like that happens, you just fall back on what you’ve been doing,” said McMahon, who will likely backup Limmer this week. “Obviously they were ready for that if that stuff happened, and they did it really well.”

Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said the players who came off the bench were just as responsible for the production as the strategic shifts.

“Players are resilient. I’d like to think coaches are too, but players are really resilient,” LaFleur said. “We have so much trust in the guys, and some guys got an opportunity to show why we can trust them, why their teammates trust them.”

NOTES: Starting CB Cobie Durant (toe) missed practice for the second straight day.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) sacks Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) pressures Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Joe Noteboom (70) rides a cart to the locker room after being injured against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

A German-based organization called Athiest Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not a part of the group and claimed that he made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, which it said were false.

“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms," the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks."

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)