Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake isn't opposed to the NFL expanding its regular-season schedule to 18 games. However, He said on "NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov" that he just wants the league to make some significant changes to protect players in the process.
“18 games — I've thought about it a lot. 18 games is OK,” Lake said. “You there just would have to be a mandatory two bye weeks and then you would have to also have a minimum of six days between each game. There wouldn't be three games in 10 days. That just you couldn't do it. There would be no way.”
Lake added that the league could get to 18 regular-season games by eliminating one of the three preseason games and replacing it with a regular-season contest.
The bigger issue for Lake is making
sure players receive adequate time to recover.
“I don't mind the 18th game. I think if you were to be able to make it in a way where it could benefit the player in terms of rest and recovery, hey, I'm all for it,” Lake said. “And then obviously we would get paid a little bit even more. So, I'm not mad at that as well.”
The 27-year-old Lake has plenty of experience with the physical demands of the NFL. He has played 54 games over his four-year career and has recorded 264 tackles, 29 passes defended, four sacks and two interceptions.
Lake also knows what it takes to remain productive over a long season. He played all 17 games in 2024 while recording a career-high 111 tackles before an elbow injury limited him to 10 games in 2025.
Through four games this season, Lake has 29 tackles, 18 solo tackles, seven passes defended and one interception.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams safety Quentin Lake lays out his conditions for an 18-game season
