Rams face standoff if he has one more season like the last 2

Kobie Turner is on track to become one of the NFL’s highest paid defensive players in 2026

Kobie Turner was the 89th pick, but in his first two seasons he’s played more like the 8th or 9th pick. With 17 sacks in the past two years, Turner ranks third among all defensive tackles in that category behind only Zack Sieler with 20 and Nnamdi Madubuike with 19.5. Having no prior NFL experience, Turner has posted more sacks than Leonard Williams, Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, Ed Oliver, Vita Vea, and Zach Allen since 2023.

And because Turner was a third round pick, you can almost guarantee that he’s anxious for the pay day that he has deserved since the end of his rookie season. With a salary of only $1.2 million in 2026 (plus performance bonuses probably), Turner is certain to take the L.A. Rams to the negotiating table next offseason if he has another campaign like his first two.

With pass rushers like Micah Parsons bringing up the fact that he tried to get the Cowboys to pay him after three seasons — and they refused — the topic of the Rams paying third-year pass rushers Turner and Byron Young will be on the table for discussion in 2026.

What will that cost?

Top-tier pass rushing defensive tackles are getting paid north of $25 million per season, with Jones setting the record at $31.75 million AAV on an extension signed last March on the eve of free agency.

Unless he has 20 sacks or some otherworldly season in 2025, Turner can’t expect to push for $30 million like Chris Jones. But as long as he stays in the 8-10 range, Kobie Turner is going to ask for a higher number than Christian Wilkins and Milton Williams.

And if he was a free agent, he would get it.

The Raiders gave Wilkins a four-year, $110 million deal to leave the Dolphins in 2024 free agency, putting him at $27.5 million AAV.

The Patriots paid Williams a four-year, $104 million deal in 2025 free agency, a $26 million AAV that stunned a lot of people who didn’t know Williams was that valuable to anyone.

Now consider that Milton Williams has never even played in more than 48% of the team’s snaps in any of his first four seasons in the NFL. Williams has 11.5 career sacks in four seasons, an average of less than three per year. Even if Williams was the best run defending nose tackle in the NFL, those players do not typically rank third in salary, but New England is banking on him as a breakout candidate because Next Gen Stats noted that he ranked second in pressure rate from the position.

And that it is only because he was on the star-studded Eagles defensive line that he has been a part-time player.

Whatever the case may be, when the Patriots put Milton Williams in the top-tier of defensive tackle salaries, they made Turner’s agent’s job very easy: “My client had 8 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss without Aaron Donald. He should make more than Milton Williams.”

Another great argument for Turner will be Madubuike’s $24.5 million AAV contract signed with the Ravens last March. Madubuike had only had one great season prior to the extension, whereas Turner has been damn near unstoppable since the middle of his rookie campaign in 2023.

• Over his last 29 games, including three playoff games, Kobie Turner has 19.5 sacks, 32 QB hits, and 21 tackles for a loss

Turner added three sacks to his tally in two playoff games last year. Turner had as many sacks in two 2024 playoff games as what Madubuike had in his first two seasons combined.

As Venie Randy Soares pointed out on Thursday morning, Turner’s “weapons for hands” have vaulted him into the conversation among the top defensive tackles in the NFL. A position that has seen its value skyrocket in recent decades with those players often getting as much pressure on the quarterback as their edge counterparts. But those pressures may be even more valuable than edge pressure because it’s straight up the middle, so it is immediate and can force the quarterback into making huge mistakes.

Turner’s six batted passes also highlight his ability to disrupt the pass.

Should Kobie Turner simply repeat last season, he will have nearly 30 sacks in three seasons and become extension eligible for the first time in 2026. Combined with his extraordinarily low salary as a former third round pick, Turner will undoubtedly request a raise before next year’s training camp and expect to be pushing for a salary north of $25 million per season, but probably much closer to $30 million than that.

And on this trajectory, the Rams will pay it. He knows that, so there probably won’t be an holdups or holdouts. But if L.A. hesitates with Turner like the Cowboys did with Parsons, the price will only go up.