Rams CB Darious Williams out, team relies on Tre White and Cobie Durant

The Los Angeles Rams have not exactly given the impression of preparation and strength in the week leading up to their season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football.

LA has raised three big questions on its own: (1) moving Steve Avila back to his rookie position at left guard and moving Jonah Jackson inside to center, (2) trading former team captain and MLB starter Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans in a mid-round draft pick swap, and (3) announcing that starting RB and offensive focal point Kyren Williams will be the team's primary punt returner. It also remains to be seen if RT Rob Havenstein can play in this game or if Warren McClendon will start in his place. While the Rams may have known some of this information for more than a week, it's still fair to wonder if this was truly their plan from the start or if they felt last-minute changes were necessary before kickoff.

But those weren't the only questions that arose this week. Although it looked like Darious Williams would be healthy in time for the start of the regular season, the Rams instead placed the veteran on the injured list and he will miss at least the first four games. Williams' injury doesn't seem to be a cause for concern; however, that leaves out LA veteran starter Tre White and third-year cornerback Cobie Durant. White has had his fair share of injury concerns over the past few seasons, and it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank after recent Achilles and ACL injuries. It's been a while since we've seen him play at a high level.

In the short term, the bigger concern at the cornerback position is probably Durant, who impressed at times as a rookie in 2022 before being asked to switch positions to the slot and take a step back in his career last season. The Rams can't simply bank on a return to his original position to jumpstart Durant's career. In the four games Williams is expected to miss, LA will face players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Michael Wilson, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen. That's a tough task for an older cornerback who likely can't keep up athletically with some of those receivers anymore, and others on that list are skilled route runners who would challenge even the most technically adept and accomplished cornerbacks.

We see the Rams make the playoffs last year in what should have been a rebuilding season, and then expect them to return in 2024. Does this feel like a team built to compete with the best in the NFL right now? Can this version of the Rams compete for a championship this season?

There are certainly a lot of questions surrounding this year's team, but the Rams can allay those concerns on Sunday Night Football by defeating one of the most talented squads in the entire NFL in the Lions.

We'll forget about Ernest Jones if Matthew Stafford puts on fireworks with Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson and the offense picks up where it left off last season. There won't be any concerns about who's returning punts if Kyren Williams looks like the player who broke through last year – and LA might even be two players deep this season after drafting Blake Corum.

The Rams appear to have hit shaky ground over the last week before a highly anticipated playoff rematch, but all they need is a strong performance on Sunday night to stabilize things and put most of those concerns to rest. That will be easier said than done against a talented Detroit team in what should be a pretty wild environment at Ford Field. If you want to be considered among the best, you have to beat the best – and the Rams have an opportunity to do just that early in the season.

We'll soon find out what this year's Rams team is made of.