St. Louis Rams News: Jake Long, Harvey Dahl
St. Louis Rams tackle Jake Long (77) defends against Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (52) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
St. Louis Rams star left tackle Jake Long was a beast in his first season with the team, and he is definitely making good on his hefty contract thus far. I’m sure the Miami Dolphins regret letting him go and binging out on positions like linebacker where they didn’t have a true need to fix, and the Rams were the beneficiaries of the Dolphins inability to keep Long. He was terrific as both a pass blocker and run blocker, but Long also tore his ACL and MCL in a Week 16 game over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; that put a damper on what was otherwise a near-flawless season from one of the game’s best offensive linemen.
According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Long recently underwent surgery to repair his ACL after doctors decided to wait a few months for Long’s torn MCL to heal up. It was a wise decision, and they didn’t have to wait long for Long’s MCL to heal up. Now that he’s done with surgery, it will be interesting to see how the rehab process goes, because there are still some doubts as to whether or not Long will be healthy enough to start the season. I think he’ll most likely be ready, and I definitely don’t view offensive tackle as a need for the Rams in the draft or in free agency. Even with Rodger Saffold set to depart in free agency, Long and the underrated Joe Barksdale form an excellent tackle duo; all they need is to add one more guy as a “quality depth” piece.
Thomas (same link as above) also reports that Rams veteran right guard Harvey Dahl will undergo ankle surgery soon, and but it is only expected to be a minor “cleanup procedure”. Dahl is a very good run blocker, but he didn’t have his best year in 2013 due to injuries, with the MCL sprain being the most notable.