Rams guard Rokevious Watkins was limited to just one game in his rookie season because of an ankle injury and he won’t be playing all 16 games in his second season either.
The NFL announced that Watkins has been suspended for the first game of the 2013 season. The suspension is for a violation of the substance-abuse policy, although it is not immediately clear why Watkins was suspended for just one game when others like Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon and Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington received four-game suspensions.
Watkins played tackle at South Carolina but the Rams moved him inside to guard after selecting him in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. He started the opener at left guard, but got hurt in that game and wound up missing the rest of the year. He was the likely bet to win this summer’s competition for the same job this year, although the suspension could change things.
Rookie Barrett Jones, former Bear Chris Williams and Shelley Smith are possibilities to start the opener in place of Watkins or, perhaps, win the job outright.