Imagine hearing about an injury on the Fourth of July. Your mind drifted to the worst-case scenario and linked the injury to fireworks, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened when the Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay revealed that his offensive lineman, Justin Dedich, got injured on the last Fourth of July. Thankfully, things aren’t as bad as people imagined. 

The confusion started when McVay met with reporters to discuss the team’s early roster moves. Addressing Dedich’s absence, McVay cryptically revealed, “[Justin Dedich] had a hand accident around the Fourth of July, and so that’s kind of what’s keeping him out for now”.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo has come forth with some clarification. 

“Despite “hand” and “Fourth of July” being in the same sentence, I’m told this was not a fireworks accident for #Rams OL Justin Dedich,” Garafolo wrote on X.  “He has all his fingers and will be back in action in the near future.”

Dedich began his journey with the Rams as an undrafted rookie out of USC in 2024. Since then, he played 29 games for the franchise, including nine starts. As a developing offensive lineman, he needs to make a comeback as the regular season begins. And McVay expects that he’ll get back in line once he recovers. 

The team has not specified when Dedich would be allowed to return. But if he isn’t able to return when the season begins, Los Angeles will be at a loss. Dedich earned a 62.1 overall grade last year, having played a total of 496 offensive snaps. He also took 91 snaps with the special teams.

Meanwhile, the Rams have signed veteran offensive lineman Blake Hance, who has played with multiple teams. Los Angeles could also be expected to turn to rookie offensive lineman Keegan Trost, who could get some much-needed reps while Dedich is sidelined.

Although McVay’s initial description undoubtedly left plenty of room for terrifying speculation, Garafolo’s swift clarification painted a far less alarming picture. Rather than suffering a severe Fourth of July mishap, Dedich appears to be recovering from a relatively standard hand injury that is expected to keep him out only temporarily. But it remains to be seen if his injury affects his gameplay this season.