The Rams have begun taking measures in an effort to ensure their new offensive weapon is on the field as much as possible.
Last week, the Rams sent cornerback E.J Gaines and a draft pick to the Bills for Sammy Watkins and a draft pick. Watkins has shown the ability to be a game-changing receiver during his three years in the league. However, he has also had two surgical procedures on his foot. Last year Watkins broke a bone in his foot, which required a screw to be inserted. Another procedure was performed in January.
Watkins has indicated during training camp he is now healthy, which is obviously great news. The Rams want to make sure he stays that way and are planning to meet with Nike to develop a shoe designed to help Watkins, according to what the team’s GM told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday.
Les Snead on Watkins: We can all knock on wood here but the foot is healed. We will sit down w/Nike to see what is the best shoe for him.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 16, 2017
“The shoe thing is a very big deal,” Rams GM Les Snead told Brady Quinn and Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “There’s a lot of technology, a lot of smart engineers developing shoes for these athletes, especially based on the type of torque and pressure they’re putting on their bones when you go in and out of a break.”
Last season, Watkins was limited to just eight games. In 13 games in 2015, Watkins caught 60 passes for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Rams had one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL last year with Case Keenum and rookie Jared Goff taking the majority of the snaps. If Watkins can stay healthy and put together a productive season, it will bode well for the Rams and potentially Watkins as well, who could hit the free agent market after this season.
