Some were surprised to see Ronnie Rivers start at running back for the Los Angeles Rams against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday instead of Darrell Henderson.
Sean McVay Explains His Decision to cast Ronnie Rivers
Sean McVay explained why Henderson wasn’t the starter against the 49ers after opting to start the game with Rivers in the backfield.
It was due to Henderson’s breathing problems at the start of the game after catching the flu earlier in the week.
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Henderson entered Sunday’s game sick, having missed practice on Wednesday and only logging a limited practice session on Thursday. With the former third-round pick not fully recovered, McVay decided to mix in Rivers to give Henderson a break.
Darrell Henderson was "having some breathing issues to start the game" with some aftereffects of his flu, so that's why Ronnie Rivers was the Rams' first ball-carrier yesterday, Sean McVay says.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) October 31, 2022
Rivers led the offense from the start and finished with 12 total touches for 36 yards while playing on 36% of the offensive snaps. Henderson, on the other hand, finished the game with six total touches for 30 yards on 41 percent of the offensive snaps.
Despite his illness, Henderson played more snaps than Rivers and Malcolm Brown.
With the Rams looking for a spark in the running game, it remains to be seen whether Rivers continues to rotate with Henderson and Brown in the absence of a trade deadline.
