Lance Lenoir is getting another opportunity and this time it’s out west. The former Michigan Panther whose been pretty quiet this season since getting waived by the Eagles is signing with the LA Rams due to a plethora of injuries at the wide receiver position. Lenoir joins his 5th NFL team after spending the spring of 2022 with the Panthers where he was a league leader in receptions (52) and second in receiving yards (484).
Lenoir has been a journeyman since 2017. After spending three seasons with the Cowboys, Lenoir has seen time with Bills, and Seahawks before being drafted by the Panthers in the 2022 USFL draft. Lenoir would quickly thrive for the Panthers despite inconsistent QB play seeing passes come from Paxton Lynch, Shea Patterson, Josh Love, and Eric Barriere.
Even with a revolving door of quarterbacks Lenoir was viewed as a Top-10 receiver in the USFL and would earn a contract with the Eagles for training camp of 2022.
Despite high praise from Eagles staff and insiders, Lenoir could not out-run the injury bug and would be waived with an injury settlement in August of 2022. For Lenoir an opportunity with the Rams may lead to some playing time as the LA franchise seems to have been fighting the injury bug for the whole 2022 NFL season.
The Rams have seen Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Ben Skowronek, J.J. Koski, and Jacob Harris all go down with injury, with Skowronek expected to be placed on injured reserve in the next couple days. Due to the law of attrition it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see Lenoir see time on special teams and maybe in the return game for the last three weeks of the season. The Rams who have elevated another former Panther TJ Carter are not shy with using alt-leaguers as elevation with Carter appearing in two NFL games this season.
With the plethora of injuries, and the Rams eliminated from playoff contention, hopefully Lenoir is able to utilize this opportunity to garner some game film to extend his NFL career. Lenoir has earned over $900,000 per spotrac, and has a chance to earn approx. $35,000 over the next three weeks.
A seasoned professional at this point in his career, Lenoir finds himself in a good spot to take advantage of the Rams abysmal season in hopes of showing NFL teams he can still contribute in the league as a WR5 or special teams ace. Regardless, it’s extremely encouraging that Lenoir’s injury with the Eagles did not hurt his chances of playing football at the “highest” level.
