From practice squad to active roster to playing left tackle against Seattle

[Rambos]

Nearly every day after practice since he came to the Rams as an undrafted free agent back on July, Kevin Hughes can be found out on the field long after the workout is over putting in extra work on the blocking sled or working on his footwork.

Many times, Hughes is joined by one of his veteran teammates, who is peppered with questions by the youngster.

But those practice and post-practice sessions couldn’t really prepare Hughes for what happened Sunday when – in a span of about 24 hours – he went from practice squad to active roster to playing left tackle against Seattle.

“You’re talking about a guy who got zero reps during the week,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “That’s a hard assessment. What I told him coming out of the locker room was ‘Use those number of plays as a foundation to build on.’ We were in the middle of a game but in some ways that was his practice. Now he knows the speed of the game and we’ll just build on that.”

Hughes got the call to the active 53-man roster only hours before Sunday’s game and about a day after starting left tackle Rodger Saffold suffered a season ending torn pectoral injury that landed him on injured reserve.

The promotion was a positive for Hughes but it still didn’t mean he’d be on the field right away. That all changed when Mark LeVoir, the designated Saffold replacement, also suffered a pectoral injury.

“I just started praying and everything like that,” Hughes said. “I was expecting nothing and ready for everything.”

Suddenly, Hughes found himself trying to find his way through oncoming traffic without getting run over.

“The game was fast,” Hughes said. “It was what I thought it was. I have a lot to work on. I’ll just get in there and go over the film and see what coach has to correct me on.”

Hughes found himself facing one of the league’s premiere pass rushers in the form of Seattle end Chris Clemons.

Clemons proceeded to do what he’s done to tackles with far more experience than Hughes on his way to posting three sacks, two forced fumbles and myriad other pressures on Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.

The Rams attempted to adjust what they do offensively to help protect Hughes and by extension Bradford.
“I think it definitely played a part in what we tried to do,” Bradford said. “I think Kevin Hughes did a great job coming in. That’s a tough situation to be in. Earlier this week he probably had no idea that he was going to be playing today. For that fact, I thought he did a great job. I think it forced us to get the ball out a little quicker than some of the plays we had in our game plan. When that happens, we’ve just got to make those completions and get in a rhythm.”

In addition to that, the Rams attempted to help Hughes by using an additional blocker or two to provide some backup.

“We tried,” Spagnuolo said. “There were a couple chips in there and moving the tight end over. There’s a lot of things when those things happen pass wise, get the ball out a little bit quicker, guys block a little bit longer, guys downfield get open. I’m sure when I watch it; it will be a combination of all those things. It’s not just one position. It’s not just tackles. It’s not just helping the tackle. It’s how about we get open quicker, how about we throw it quicker, how bout we block a little bit longer. It’s all of them.”

On Monday afternoon, Spagnuolo revealed that LeVoir’s pectoral injury – while not as devastating as the one to Saffold – is a two to four week strain and will likely force the Rams to make another move to help try to fortify the position.

One option could be Renardo Foster, who was the team’s primary backup at tackle in 2010 and came in for a workout with the team a few weeks ago.

Either way, it seems likely Hughes is going to have to continue to grow and learn from his experience because as has been made very clear by this season, no backup should expect anything by another opportunity.

“When you get interchangeable parts and timing is really important on offense and we haven’t had a lot of that consistently with the same 11 guys so you fight that,” Spagnuolo said. “But yet you have got to fight through it and get as much timing as you can on the field during the week in practice.”

Our LT was on the practice squad and played with no reps and got tooled.... injuries play a factor in this game nuff said...

Guys want to rip Bradford, for not playing well behind this O line get real...

[shower beers]

Any word on Jason Smith's timetable for return? Now would be a great opportunity to get some much needed reps at LT. With our luck, I imagine he won't be playing again this year though.

[mh-i]

Well gee wiz, maybe they should play Feeley so Bradford doesn't get hurt. Certainly no QB's in the NFL have ever had to play under such unwinable conditions.

[Rambos]

Well gee wiz, maybe they should play Feeley so Bradford doesn't get hurt. Certainly no QB's in the NFL have ever had to play under such unwinable conditions.

Do you really think you can take a guy form the practice squad with no practice and play LT?

Clemons proceeded to do what he’s done to tackles with far more experience than Hughes on his way to posting three sacks, two forced fumbles and myriad other pressures on Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.

What part of this don't you understand?

[mh-i]

Fans aren't upset about one game. It's not even about wins and losses. It's about the overall. From day 1 to now where has he and the team come. Bradford's in his 2nd year so it's clearly too early to give up on him.

[Nick]

Do you really think you can take a guy form the practice squad with no practice and play LT?

It's certainly asking a lot, but when I went back and watched all five of Seattle's sacks from last weekend, it seemed Sam was responsible for more of them than our practice squad LT.