Los Angeles Rams Place Rookie Linebacker on Injured Reserve

The Los Angeles Rams will have to wait a little bit longer to see what their rookie has to offer. The Athletic's Jourdain Rodrigue reports the team placed linebacker Daniel Hardy on injured reserve earlier today:

The Rams officially placed OLB Daniel Hardy on IR. He has an ankle injury. Because he was on the 53-man roster prior to this designation, he can be made eligible to return in-season should he be able to do so.
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) September 1, 2022

The move guarantees Hardy will miss the first four games of the season. The Rams, who proudly embrace the "F them picks" approach to team building, probably weren't depending too much on the linebacker to make an immediate impact.

Drafted 235th overall out of Montana State in the 2022 NFL Draft, Hardy comes to the Rams with explosive athleticism and 16.5 sacks in the FCS to his name. The Rams likely hoped he might compete to replace the snaps they lost with linebacker Von Miller's departure, but he won't have a chance to flash his skills until at least week 5. Justin Hollins and Terrell Lewis are poised to split time across from Leonard Floyd in the meantime.