Rob Havenstein, the Rams’ longtime right tackle, announced his retirement after 11 seasons with the franchise in a social media post on Tuesday.
Drafted in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, Havenstein arrived during the Jeff Fisher era, back when the Rams were still tethered to St. Louis and relevance felt like a distant promise.
He survived regime changes, schematic overhauls, relocation and the violent churn of the NFL, becoming one of the few true through-lines of the organization’s modern history. When head coach Sean McVay arrived and reshaped the franchise’s identity, Havenstein didn’t need reinvention.
He simply kept doing his job — at a high level — and McVay built around him.
“He’s an all-time Ram,” said McVay when asked about Havenstein’s future last week. “He’s a legacy player. He’s a legacy human being, more importantly.”
The Rams’ Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 season stands as the crowning achievement of Havenstein’s career.
That championship run was fueled by star power and headlines, but it was stabilized by players like Havenstein, anchoring the right side, with Andrew Whitworth protecting Matthew Stafford’s blindside. Super Bowl rings don’t come without linemen who hold the line when everything collapses.
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What made Havenstein rare in today’s game was his availability. During 10 of his 11 seasons, he played at least 97 percent of the snaps he was physically able to play.
In 2016, he logged all 1,100 offensive snaps across 16 games. In 2022, on a 17-game schedule, he did it again — every snap, all 1,018 of them.
An ankle injury limited him to just seven games in 2025, and now, just days after Stafford confirmed he’ll return for 2026, Havenstein steps away. The timing stings, but offensive lineman Warren McClendon Jr. stepped up in Havenstein’s absence, and will likely be the starting right tackle next season, the final year of his current contract.
“Warren’s a success story,” general manager Les Snead said on Thursday. “He worked on his trade, worked on his craft and got a more consistent opportunity this year when Rob was struggling with the injuries and made the most of it. When the opportunity comes, they make the most of it.
“He’s done that for sure.”