Lake

Tight end Tyler Higbee is on track to return on Sunday for the season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.

Safety Quentin Lake will be back for the playoffs. Star receiver Davante Adams also could be held out till then.

The Rams, coming off consecutive losses to the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons, might appear to be limping toward their seventh postseason appearance in nine seasons under coach Sean McVay.

But a team that was regarded by many as the class of the league midway through the season should be at or near full strength when they play an NFC wild-card game next weekend.

“We’re getting healthy at the right time,” McVay said Friday.

Lake agreed.

“The league and the world kind of knew where we were at when we were at full strength,” Lake said. “We’re getting guys back at the right time and I feel like we’re going to hit our stride at the right time.”

The Rams, who at one time were seeded No. 1 in the NFC, are currently seeded No. 6.

If the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, and the Rams defeat the Cardinals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, the Rams will climb to No. 5.

Regardless, McVay reiterated Friday that starters would play against the Cardinals, though how much remains to be seen.

Several starters are questionable because of injuries, including running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum because of ankle injuries and left tackle Alaric Jackson because of a knee injury that kept him out of last Monday’s loss to the Falcons.

Right guard Kevin Dotson, who also sat out against the Falcons because of an ankle injury, will not play Sunday, and his status for the wild-card round remains uncertain.

The Rams also at some point will make a decision regarding veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein. The 11th-year pro has been on injured reserve since mid-November. Warren McClendon Jr. has played well in his place, but Havenstein would give McVay flexibility if Jackson were injured and McClendon moved to the left side.

The Rams’ 27-24 loss to the Falcons did not result exclusively because of injuries, but the holes left by missing starters were apparent and in some cases glaring.

Veteran tackle D.J. Humphries struggled in Jackson’s place, and guard Justin Dedich is not as big and strong as Dotson. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson ran roughshod through a defense that was missing Lake.

Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, right, blocks Detroit Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson during a Rams win on Dec. 14.

(Harry How / Getty Images)

“There is a reason why those guys that have been missed are starters,” McVay said, speaking generally, “because they give us the best chance to play at the optimum levels.”

Rams tight ends have played well during Higbee’s absence, but McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford are eager for the 10th-year pro’s return.

Higbee caught 20 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in nine games before he was injured during a Nov. 16 victory over the Seahawks.

He is looking forward to getting back into the flow on game day.

“Just try to be myself, bring the energy, bring the physicality and try to make some plays when it’s my turn,” Higbee said.

Stafford has deftly utilized tight ends Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. Now he said he will welcome back Higbee, “the ultimate team player,” who helps bind teammates.

“Everybody calls him a glue guy,” Stafford said, “probably an understatement.”

Lake, a team captain, also brings more than talent to the field, which the Rams formally recognized this week when they awarded him a three-year extension that includes more than $25 million in guarantees.

Lake has been sidelined since suffering a left elbow injury that required surgery. He began practicing this week, and said he would be ready for the playoffs.

“The doctor was saying, ‘You came back pretty fast, but if you feel good and you have all the strength and range of motion, go ahead and cut it loose.’

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Adams sat out the last two games because of a hamstring injury, but he still leads the NFL with 14 touchdown catches.

Adams was limited in practices this week.

“We want to make sure that we’re getting everything ready to roll and being smart with him because of the position that he plays and the stress that that hamstring takes with some of the different things that we activate with him,” McVay said.

Star receiver Puka Nacua is among those happy to see Higbee, Lake and Adams on the practice field again.

“It’s fun to have all those guys out there,” he said. “I’d say their presence is definitely missed.”

A tawny owl screeches nearby in the dark and her mate replies, hooting eerily from the forest below. A white dome floats in the gloaming above a plain black doorway outlined with red light, like a portal to another dimension. I’m in Grizedale Forest, far from any light-polluting cities, to visit the Lake District’s first public observatory and planetarium, which opened in May.

Grizedale Observatory offers immersive films in the planetarium and three-hour stargazing events that go on late into the night. There are sessions on astrophotography and, on moonless nights, dark sky astronomy with the chance to see “a glittering tapestry of stars, galaxies, nebulae and star clusters”. Its director, Gary Fildes, is a veteran in the field, having founded and led three UK observatories over two decades. The goal at Grizedale, he says, is to create “an immersive, year-round astronomy and science destination that brings the beauty of the Lake District skies to visitors”.

Flanker Morgan, 25, came through the academy at Scarlets and made his senior debut in 2019, before joining rivals Ospreys two years later. He made his senior Wales bow in a victory over Scotland.

Hooker Lake, 26, has 26 caps and made his debut in the 2022 Six Nations opener against Ireland.

“The Ospreys is a club that means a lot to me on so many different levels so making the decision to move was something that I spent a lot of time thinking over,” he said.

“My whole career to this point has been with this team and there have been so many special moments on the way.

“Coming through the pathway, making my debut, the first time I captained the side and the friendships I’ve forged with players and staff, will all live long in my memory for the rest of my life.”

The moves come at an uncertain time for Welsh rugby, with the number of professional clubs in the country set to be reduced from four to three by 2027.

There will be one in Cardiff, one in the east of the country and one in the west – which is expected to result in a straight survival fight between Swansea-based Ospreys and Scarlets in Llanelli.

Another option that has now emerged is Ospreys owners, Y11 Sport & Media, taking over WRU-owned Cardiff, which could produce the desired number of three professional sides.

There are currently more than 80 Wales-based players out of contract at the end of the season.