The Los Angeles Rams will have a new starting left tackle on Sunday when they face the Arizona Cardinals. It’s not by choice, as Alaric Jackson will be serving a one-game suspension for punching Buffalo Bills edge rusher Bradley Chubb after Monday’s loss.
In Jackson’s place, the Rams will start veteran David Quessenberry. It’s his first start since 2023 when he started four games for the Minnesota Vikings, but he’s been active for 35 games in the last three seasons. He just hasn’t seen the field very much, playing only 128 offensive snaps since 2024.
Despite the massive gap in time since his last start, Sean McVay remains confident in Quessenberry as the team’s interim starter.
“The way that he's played in practice, just the reliability,” McVay
said of what gives him trust in the veteran. “He's played a lot of football and the way that he approaches practice, his preparation. He's a consummate pro. Even though it's been a little bit of time, he still has played a lot of good, meaningful snaps, had some good, stressful downs. He takes a bunch of snaps with our first offense all the time just because of the nature of some of the things we've had to manage with Alaric's blood clot stuff and some different times that he's missed. I do feel confident in him. He has a great look in his eye and he's a Ram through and through.”
In his nine-year career, Quessenberry has started 30 games. His best season was in 2021 when he started all 17 games for the Titans, earning a PFF grade of 79.2, including an impressive 86.6 run-blocking grade as a key blocker for Derrick Henry.
He has yet to play any meaningful snaps for the Rams since signing as a free agent in 2025, but they’ll need him to perform at a high level against the Cardinals on Sunday in his first real test in years.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay explains why he's confident in David Quessenberry at LT
