The Rams are heading into another rough stretch, and Alaric Jackson’s suspension just made it worse.
Jackson is facing a two-game ban after reports surfaced that he punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb on the field after Monday’s game. Head coach Sean McVay said Jackson plans to appeal, but Los Angeles is preparing as if the suspension will stick. And with the NFL very much in the business of optics, that kind of swing at a helmetless opponent in front of cameras was never going to get much grace.
If the punishment stands, the Rams will turn to veteran David Quessenberry at left tackle this week against the Arizona Cardinals and again in Week against the Raiders. That’s a problem the Rams did not want to be solving right now, especially with the offensive line already taking hits.
Quessenberry earned the backup role the hard way. He looked solid in training camp and preseason, which gave him the edge over rookie Keagen Trost.
Trost is currently on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, so he’s not available anyway. Quessenberry, a ninth-year pro, has 30 career starts.
His last real stretch as a regular starter came with the Titans in 2021, and he had previously started with the Vikings in 2023. Last season with the Rams, he played just 18 offensive snaps.
That doesn’t make him unusable. But it also doesn’t make this feel comfortable.
Los Angeles has already lost Trost and Justin Dedich from its offensive line rotation, and Jackson’s absence strips away the player Pro Football Focus ranked ninth among tackles. The Rams learned last season how quickly things can go sideways without him, and that Week 17 loss to the Falcons still lingers.
The matchup this week isn’t exactly gentle, either. The Cardinals are 1-4 after getting hammered 45-21 by Detroit, but they still have Josh Sweat coming off the edge.
If there’s a weak spot in front of the quarterback, opponents will find it. That’s what happens in this league.
The Raiders present another difficult ask if Jackson remains out for the full suspension. Las Vegas has dropped games to the Chiefs and Patriots, but McVay’s group still has to deal with Maxx Crosby, one of the league’s premier edge defenders. That is not the time to be patching things up at left tackle.
McVay said the Rams don’t have much choice here. Even if Trost comes off injured reserve, he’s not jumping Quessenberry anytime soon. Big Bill Murray is the only other tackle on the 53-man roster.
So a week that was already ugly has only gotten uglier. And for the Rams, the fallout from Jackson’s mistake lands right in the middle of a roster that can’t afford many more breakdowns.
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Sean McVay Sends Clear Message As Rams Deal With Alaric Jackson Fallout
The Rams now have to manage an early-season hit to the offensive line after left tackle Alaric Jackson was suspended for two games by the NFL following an incident in which he punched Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb. Sean McVay addressed the situation by stressing how important it is for Jackson to represent the team the right way, while also outlining the immediate football impact with David Quesenberry set to step in during the suspension.
McVay also said Jackson is expected to appeal, which leaves a familiar kind of uncertainty hanging over a position group the Rams can ill afford to destabilize. For a team trying to keep its offense on track, the on-field answer may be straightforward for now, but the broader fallout from the incident is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]
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The dispute has mostly lived in the world of sports gamblers and social media, where frustration has been aimed at sportsbooks and the official measurement of the run. Williams has still given the Rams steady production through five games this season, with 343 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but the lingering debate shows how one yard can take on a life of its own when the numbers are tight and the stakes feel bigger than the box score. [Read more 🡒]