The Rams’ offensive tackle picture just got a lot thinner.
Keagen Trost, the third-round pick who had quickly become one of the more important reserve options on Los Angeles’ offensive line, left Saturday’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a hamstring injury and did not return. On Monday, Sean McVay said, “Keagen got his hamstring. It'll probably be a few weeks with him,”
That matters because Trost is not just another body. Matthew Stafford and Kevin Dotson have both said he has taken snaps with the first- and second-team offenses, and he’s been used on both sides of the line.
For a rookie, that kind of versatility gives him a much higher floor than most first-year tackles. It also makes him the kind of depth piece a team notices immediately when he disappears.
The timing is rough for a Rams team that already has real questions at tackle. The possibility that Alaric Jackson could face a suspension has only made the situation more urgent. Jackson avoided a felony charge, but his case was assigned to a pre-filing diversion program, which would trigger an automatic suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy.
If Jackson is out, the Rams are staring at a major hole on the left side. Last season without him, the offense had one of its roughest stretches. In a game with DJ Humphries at tackle, Stafford was sacked three times, which tied his season high, and it was one of only two games in which he threw more than one interception.
The backup plan looks shaky. Without Trost, Los Angeles would likely have to lean on David Quessenberry at left tackle, and that’s not an ideal answer.
He’ll be 36 at the start of the season, hasn’t played since 2024, and when he did play he posted a pass-blocking efficiency of 92.5 while allowing eight pressures. He brings experience, but over the last few years he’s mostly been a liability when he’s on the field.
That’s why Trost’s injury stings beyond the usual preseason concern. He may have been drafted with a limited rookie role in mind, but Jackson’s off-field situation has changed the equation.
Even if Quessenberry opens the year as the fallback, Trost was the first man off the bench if injuries hit. Now the Rams have to wait on him, and he won’t practice through the rest of the preseason.
Los Angeles has signed multiple tackles over the last few weeks, and AJ Arcuri not playing in the preseason could be another sign the team is trying to manage that depth carefully. Still, the broader issue hasn’t gone away.
The Rams already lived through early offensive line trouble in 2023 and 2024, and without Jackson in 2024 they started 0-2. In those two games, Warren McClendon, Joe Noteboom and Arcuri combined to allow 19 pressures, with Noteboom and Arcuri responsible for 10 of those at left tackle alone.
For a team trying to go all-in for a Super Bowl, that kind of slow start would be a problem. The Rams need to come out fast in a difficult NFC, and they need to do it with enough stability up front to survive the opening stretch.
That’s a heavy burden for a rookie, but Trost’s injury leaves Los Angeles with little choice. The hope is that he’s back before Week 1, but right now his hamstring makes that uncertain. And for a roster already carrying questions at tackle, losing him even temporarily is a big setback.
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