Los Angeles Rams projected starting inside linebacker Micah Kiser is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a left pectoral injury and will be sidelined indefinitely, the team announced Sunday.
Kiser “got banged up” and suffered the injury in the first half of Saturday’s 14-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason game in Honolulu and spent the second half on the sidelines in street clothes, coach Sean McVay said.
The Rams selected Kiser in the fifth round of the 2018 draft out of Virginia. He played all 16 games of the 2018 regular season and all three postseason games, making seven tackles, but did not start.
Bryce Hager will replace Kiser in the starting lineup, McVay told reporters on a conference call Sunday. The Rams selected Hager in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. The 6-foot, 1-inch, 237-pound Hager has 37 tackles in 64 career games in four seasons, starting once.
“I think that he’s capable of being a starting player in this league,” McVay said. `He’s been a great (special) teams player. In practice, you certainly feel his ability to play at a high level, understand some of the intricacies of that inside linebacker spot and what that entails from a communication standpoint from the adjustments that are necessary based on what offenses present.
“He’s a guy that we do have a lot of confidence in and that’s exactly why we re-signed him in free agency this year.”