Across a preseason that is littered with a growing number of key injuries, the Los Angeles Rams seem to be trending towards one of the most fortunate outcomes in the NFL. They’ve lost no starters to long-term injuries so far.
But beneath the surface there is a growing and compounding issue that reveals a potential path to falling short of lofty Super Bowl expectations.
Left tackle Alaric Jackson is facing a potential suspension. Reserve interior lineman Justin Dedich has yet to practice following a July
hand injury. Rookie third-rounder Keagen Trost will now miss a matter of weeks after suffering a hamstring pull against the Chiefs.
Most teams can survive losing one tackle short term. The Rams are flirting with losing the starter and the young backup at the same time. That’s when protection, the run game, and Matthew Stafford’s durability could all become compromised.
Rolling into the season with David Quessenberry in a starting role is easily problematic. AJ Arcuri is not depth—it’s an issue.
Few saw the offensive line collapse coming in 2022 that resulted in an abbreviated season for Stafford less than a year removed from winning a championship. The snowball starts with one domino falling over, and then the issues continue to compound.
It’s not necessarily an offensive line story. It’s a quarterback story.
Stafford won the NFL’s MVP award a year ago in part because of the secure ecosystem the Rams were able to sustain around him. Quarterbacks in the backend of their careers need help—it’s no knock against Stafford particularly. Should the edges grow softer, the idea that “Stafford has three to four great years left” dies as early as October.
In some ways no news is good news as we await word on Jackson’s possible suspension. Teams generally are aware of the league’s considerations long before a decision becomes public. By not purchasing insurance for Jackson, the Rams are effectively telling us they aren’t concerned.
Another way to read this is that the Rams are unprepared for life without Jackson. Quessenberry hasn’t played much football recently. Even when the veteran was a spot starter, it’s clear he was nowhere near the level of performance expected out of Jackson. Arcuri has never played an extended stretch of meaningful snaps.
The team may assert publicly they have confidence in Jackson’s backups should he miss time. That confidence would be unfounded and not rooted in reality.
The Rams can survive a lot. They have an overwhelmingly talented roster. No team can survive a patched-together tackle rotation long-term in a year where they’ve pushed the chips all in. This is the quietly compounding issue that threatens a Super Bowl run and could lead to a catastrophic collapse.
