Running back Lance Dunbar is eligible to return to the active roster this week after being placed on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury at the start of training camp. Per NFL rules, if healthy, a player on PUP is eligible to return to the field at the onset of Week 7 in the regular season.
Head coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday that Dunbar was in fact "healthy [and] in a really good place right now." But he and general manager Les Snead have yet to decide whether they will immediately activate the former North Texas standout or delay the process by a week or two. "That's a decision that we're going to make. He's available to start practicing this week and then, really, you've
got a clock that starts," McVay said. "We're going to discuss when we're going to start that clock, whether it's going to be this week where he can start practicing or whether we wait until after the bye."
Though the staff does not need to make a decision just yet, if and when they do remove Dunbar from the PUP list, they will have a week to decide whose place he will take on the active roster.
Should Dunbar practice this week, the Rams will gain a valuable multifaceted running back who can take carries out of the backfield or be used in obvious passing situations. But by electing to delay the process, Los Angeles will be able to preserve its depth at running back.
"There's a handful of things that will be involved in that discussion," McVay said. "But that's something that we'll have to make a decision on pretty shortly."