Byron Young spent Week 2 making a very loud case for himself, and the Rams noticed.
Against the Giants, Los Angeles finally found the kind of pass rush it couldn’t locate in the opener against the 49ers. The Rams finished with two sacks, but that number barely scratches the surface of how much heat they put on Jameis Winston throughout the night. The pressure came early and kept coming, with Young setting the tone before the rest of the front joined in.
Young wasn’t the only one getting after Winston. Undrafted rookie Wesley Bailey was the first Ram to record a sack, and Braden Fiske came close to adding even more damage when he nearly got Winston in the end zone for a safety.
Fiske only got stronger as the game went on. But Young’s presence was the headliner in a night when Chris Shula’s defense controlled the flow until LA’s offense finally started putting points on the board.
That kind of performance matters for more than just one game. Young is one of 27 Rams veterans in the final year of their current contracts, including 10 defenders, and that puts him squarely in the conversation when it comes to future extensions.
General manager Les Snead won’t be able to keep everybody, so players have to force the issue. Young is doing exactly that.
He’s no longer just a promising piece on the edge. With his speed, agility, and power, he has developed into one of the more complete pass rushers on the roster. His rise has been steady, and his career path has taken him from being seen as an over-aged but inexperienced prospect to a player who belongs in the discussion with the NFL’s best at getting after the quarterback.
The Rams are leaning on him, especially with Myles Garrett unavailable, and they have every reason to keep him in the building. Young isn’t the kind of free agent signing that gets framed as a gamble.
He’s a homegrown piece who has helped build the backbone of a new Rams defense alongside Kobie Turner. Aaron Donald gave Young his seal of approval in 2023, and that kind of endorsement carries weight.
The Rams won’t hand out extensions until the season is over, but Young has already done enough to make sure he’s on the radar.
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Poona Fords Rams debut in Week 1 did not give anyone much reason to believe the front would hold up the way the team needed, but his response in Week 2 looked a lot closer to the player Los Angeles was counting on. Working next to Aaron Donald, Ford helped steady the middle of the line and gave the Rams a sturdier answer against the run, something that has been a point of emphasis for a defense trying to establish itself early.
Against the Giants, the improvement showed up in the most direct way possible: New York was limited to 52 rushing yards on 21 carries. For a Rams defense that has leaned on disruptive interior play in the past, Fords ability to occupy space, hold his ground and make life harder between the tackles matters well beyond one afternoon, because the front now has a more believable path to consistency than it did seven days earlier. [Read more 🡒]
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To make room, the Rams placed running back Ronnie Rivers on injured reserve, opening the door for a player who could be used mostly on coverage units and other special teams work. It is the kind of adjustment teams make when they want to clean up one part of the roster without overhauling everything, and it suggests the Rams are taking the problem seriously as they search for a more reliable answer. [Read more 🡒]
Davante Adams Sparked A Viral Debate Rams Fans Didnt See Coming
Davante Adams has been a familiar name around the Rams orbit since the wideouts endorsement work with Taco Bell turned into one of those oddly memorable football-adjacent marketing moments. The campaign even got a pop-up called Davantes House at SoFi Stadium, and Adams has talked about it in media appearances, helping fuel the kind of online chatter that can take on a life of its own around a star player.
The latest debate, though, came from fans running with the joke a little too far and treating the branding like it meant Adams literally had a Taco Bell in his home. He does not, of course, and the confusion has only added another layer to a story that already had Rams supporters paying attention, especially with Adams also drawing notice for his praise of Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie in a recent interview. [Read more 🡒]