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IRVINE, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams opened 2022 NFL training camp on Sunday at University of California-Irvine. Here’s a closer look at a few storylines:

The biggest question: When will quarterback Matthew Stafford throw? Stafford didn’t throw during the offseason after he received an injection in his right elbow for an injury he dealt with last season, but said he will “definitely” be ready during training camp. But when will that be? On the last day of minicamp, Stafford said he still had “a lot of work to do physically just to get ready to go” and feels like he’s entering training camp “in peak position to go out there and play at a high level.” The Rams’ coaching staff isn’t worried about Stafford’s mastery of the offense and there’s been dialogue about making sure Stafford is ready to go during camp.

Training camp is a success if … Stafford is 100% healthy for Week 1: Stafford proved himself in Sean McVay’s offense last season and the head coach said during the spring workout that Stafford “now has such ownership” of it going into his second year in L.A. While the Rams added wide receiver Allen Robinson II in free agency, so much of the offense already has familiarity with Stafford. Although Stafford didn’t throw during minicamp, McVay praised the way the quarterback was able to work during the “above-the-neck emphasis drills,” and said Stafford was “coaching guys up” when he was watching drills from the sidelines.

Obviously most NFL teams rely on the health of their starting quarterback, but given Stafford’s elbow injury, the most important thing for the Rams is to finish training camp with Stafford at 100%.

The player with the most to prove: Wide receiver Van Jefferson. As Odell Beckham Jr. recovers from a torn ACL, there’s been a thought that the wide receiver could re-sign with the Rams during the season if all goes well with his rehab. But while the Rams have the necessary cap space (around $7.5 million, according to Over the Cap), a strong start to the season from Jefferson could diminish the need to bring back Beckham.

Jefferson took a big step forward in his second season, finishing with 50 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns, and that was as Los Angeles’ third receiving option for much of the season. Beckham was crucial to the Rams’ Super Bowl run and victory — despite the injury — but Jefferson will likely have the chance to prove he can be a strong No. 2 or 3 receiver in 2022.

As NFL training camps swing into action, NFL Nation looks at the top storylines and offers a prediction for each team.
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Most impactful offseason addition: Linebacker Bobby Wagner. The Rams lost Von Miller in free agency, and although Wagner is not a direct replacement, he brings a great deal of veteran leadership to the Rams’ defense. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said “you can’t help” but learn from the veteran linebacker when you’re around him, and saw during the spring how beneficial that was to other players at the position, especially 2021 third-round pick Ernest Jones. Morris said Wagner “slows the game down for everybody around him” and said Wagner is still a guy who can “go out there all three downs and play every single snap of the season.”

Camp prediction: Tutu Atwell ends camp as No. 3 receiver. Both Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp pointed out Atwell’s improvement during the spring. Atwell, the Rams’ second-round pick in 2021, played 10 offensive snaps last season but had a role on special teams before injuring his shoulder and being placed on injured reserve in November. The Rams have a strong trio of Kupp, Robinson and Jefferson, but a solid camp from Atwell will give him a bigger opportunity entering the regular season.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — At the Los Angeles Rams‘ Super Bowl parade in February, All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald stood at the podium to echo coach Sean McVay’s “run it back” chant.

“We built a superteam,” Donald said at the parade. “We’re gonna bring a superteam back! Why not run it back?”

And while the Rams made sure they kept their core group of players under contract for the foreseeable future by reworking Donald’s contract and signing quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp to contract extensions, the defense will look a bit different than in Super Bowl LVI.

Los Angeles hoped it could bring back outside linebacker Von Miller, but it couldn’t compete with the six-year, $120 million contract he got from the Buffalo Bills. Instead of looking for another pass-rusher, the Rams looked to add quality in a different linebacker position with future Hall of Fame inside linebacker Bobby Wagner.

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While Wagner and Miller are obviously not straight swaps in terms of position or skill set — Miller is a pass-rusher with 115.5 sacks, and Wagner is a tackling machine who has averaged 138.3 per season in his 10-year career, including a career-high 170 last season with the Seattle Seahawks — the Rams once again added a championship-winning veteran who will bring leadership to a roster that lost several key players to retirement or free agency since that Super Bowl victory.

Rookie Ernest Jones played a big part at middle linebacker for the Rams en route to the championship, so it did seem like an odd fit for Wagner in Los Angeles. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said Wagner, who should start alongside Jones, is still “one of those guys that can play every single down.” Morris said the Rams are working on what adding Wagner means for the defense, but that “all those things will play themselves out as you get into the season and you start game planning.”

“He’s certainly a guy that can go out there all three downs and play every single snap of the season, and it wouldn’t shock me one bit if he was able to do that,” Morris said.

McVay said he noticed that Wagner seemed “really comfortable” during the spring install of the Rams’ defense, saying, “It’s still football at the end of the day, and he’s got such a seamless way of being able to build those relationships and he’s such a likable guy.”

“He’s really a pleasure to talk to, to communicate the defense to,” Morris said. “Tell him the whys, the whats, the wheres, the hows. And then to get some input from him also. He does a great job. He’s been in this league for a long time and has been a great presence on command and leadership, so I learn stuff from him every day as well. So I’m really excited about working with him.”

During minicamp, Kupp talked about how “daunting” the defense is, something he said will make him better because he goes up against the unit every day in practice. The defense has an elite player on every level: Donald, Wagner and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

“When you talk about who I believe are three guys that are either locked themselves as Hall of Famers or on track to do so,” Kupp said. “And that’s an incredible thing to have on each level of that defense and the leadership that they have. … It’s a daunting thing. I’m glad it’s just practice and then we get to go against it and practice against it, and it will make things a little bit easier for us.”

The Rams ranked fourth in Football Outsiders’ Defensive DVOA last season — third against the pass and 10th against the run. There is little room for improvement. With Wagner, though, the best might be yet to come for the Los Angeles defense.

“When you’ve got that kind of talent all across the board on all levels,” Kupp added, “and you’ve got to include Flo [outside linebacker Leonard Floyd] in that mix and some of the other guys that have played a lot of football for us. It’s just really fun to be around. It’s really fun to get the grasp and the understanding on how we want to do things and how we move forward every single day. So that’s extremely fun to be around.”