{"id":2254,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2254","headline":"Rams patch receiver corps after Whittington goes on IR","dek":"With Puka Nacua already banged up, Los Angeles placed Jordan Whittington on injured reserve with a back injury and re-signed Xavier Smith off San Francisco's practice squad.","body":"The Rams skipped the trade deadline without adding a receiver, and now their depth at the position has thinned further. Jordan Whittington has landed on injured reserve with a back injury, leaving Los Angeles searching for answers behind an already-dinged Puka Nacua.\n\nThe corresponding move was a familiar one. The Rams re-signed Xavier Smith, plucking him off the 49ers' practice squad, where he had landed after previously being with the team. Smith knows the system, which matters when a roster is dealing with injuries at receiver and the front office chose not to use the trade deadline to bring in outside help.\n\nIt is a quiet fix for a problem that started looking bigger as the deadline passed with no moves. Los Angeles will now lean on Smith to provide depth while Whittington recovers and Nacua's status is managed. The receiver room has gone from a position of apparent strength to one the Rams will need to monitor closely in the coming weeks.","published_at":"2026-11-11T00:18:23.830842+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"Rams make pair of wide receiver moves amid Puka Nacua injury after quiet trade deadline","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/11/10/sports/rams-place-jordan-whittington-ir-admid-puka-nacua-injury/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Did the Rams add a wide receiver at the trade deadline?","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/did-rams-add-wide-receiver-234052742.html"},{"outlet":"Pro Football Talk","publisher":"NBC Sports","title":"Rams bring back WR Xavier Smith, sign him off 49ers practice squad","url":"https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/rams-bring-back-wr-xavier-smith-sign-him-off-49ers-practice-squad"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams bring back WR Xavier Smith, sign him off 49ers practice squad","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-bring-back-wr-xavier-213349824.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams place Jordan Whittington on IR, bring back Xavier Smith","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-place-jordan-whittington-ir-220026185.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Rams sign WR right after trade deadline after WR not named Puka Nacua goes on IR","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rams-sign-wr-trade-deadline-224024729.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F11%2FAP_Bills_Rams_Football_62_3-3be75-0.jpg?w%3D1024","credit":"New York Post","width":4604},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}