The Seahawks and Rams have spent the last season-plus turning their matchup into one of the NFL’s most watchable grudge games, and now one Seattle lineman has handed out some unexpected praise to the player who keeps ruining his day.
On the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long, Seahawks offensive lineman Grey Zabel singled out Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner as a nightmare matchup.
“Kobie Turner is like my kryptonite right now in the game of football,” said Zabel. “I don’t know what it is.
He’s just got my number. He just works me every single game.
As much as you want to hate the Rams, they’re all really good dudes across the board. Kobie Turner for instance, he’s just out there and he just smiles.
He just plays the game for the love of the game.”
Zabel also had good things to say about Poona Ford, while explaining that he would rather deal with a bigger, stronger, slower defensive lineman than a shorter, stockier player who can dart side to side in an instant.
That kind of movement has been a problem for him against Turner. In three games against Seattle last season, Turner posted 1.5 sacks and 12 pressures, and he also picked off his first career interception.
The praise lands with a little extra weight because Zabel was a rookie last season and still managed to make noise of his own. He earned a spot on the PFWA all-rookie team and received honorable mention from NFL coaches and executives as one of the league’s best interior offensive linemen.
Seattle’s offensive line may have even more to worry about this season. The Rams brought in Myles Garrett this offseason, and Zabel said the reaction around the Seahawks was immediate when the news started circulating.
“Somebody sent the Twitter deal, and the first thing you do is check if it’s a burner account and somebody’s messing around,” said Zabel. “People skew away from competition.
I’m like, ‘You know what? Let’s go see what we’ve got.’
He’s probably the best defensive end ever, and I kind of want to see how good I am.”
There’s also growing speculation that Aaron Donald could return to the Rams. That would only make life more difficult for Seattle up front, especially after Zabel said early in the podcast that he prefers not to face faster, smaller defensive linemen. Donald built his career on exactly that kind of quickness.
The Rams and Seahawks already gave fans three of the season’s best games in 2025. Los Angeles won the first meeting, 21-19, when Sam Darnold threw four interceptions.
Seattle answered in Week 16 with a comeback from 16 points down in overtime, a game that included the year’s most controversial play. The Rams then fell short in the NFC Championship Game.
The rivalry has only sharpened since then. Before Jared Verse was traded to the Cleveland Browns, he went on The Pivot podcast and said, “I got like a disdain in my heart for them.
I don’t like the Seahawks at all.” In his final meeting with the players, Verse told them, “Make sure you beat the Seahawks.
That’s all I care about.”
Now the teams head into the 2026 season as the top two Super Bowl favorites and division rivals again, with their first meeting not coming until Week 16. That delay only adds to the anticipation around a matchup that already has plenty of edge.
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