1:10pm: Lake underwent surgery on his elbow, per Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Rams are hoping their versatile safety is back for the postseason, if not sooner.
10:19am: Rams safety Quentin Lake is expected to miss multiple games due to an elbow injury, per Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Head caoch Sean McVay said on Monday that the team is waiting for MRI results to determine a plan for Lake moving forward. McVay left the door open to surgery and/or a stint on injured reserve.
Lake injured his elbow in the Rams’ win over the Seahawks on Sunday. The fourth-year safety has been playing the ‘Star’ role in Los Angeles once held by Jalen Ramsey. Most of Lake’s snaps have come out of the slot with a healthy dose of work as a free safety and a dimebacker in the box, plus a handful of snaps off the edge.
After emerging as a full-time starter in 2024, Lake has grown into an impact player this season. His 61 tackles rank third on the Rams defense and he leads the unit with 10 passes defended, which is a career-high through just 10 games. His two tackles for loss are a career-high, too, and Lake also notched his first-ever interception in Week 6 against the Ravens.
It will be hard for one player to replace Lake given his variety of roles in the defense. Second-year defensive back Josh Wallace stepped up in the slot on Sunday and will likely handle most of those snaps moving forward. Jaylen McCollough – also a second-year DB – can pick up Lake’s work in the box, while Kamren Curl and Kamren Kinchens have been starting at free safety. Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula also likes to move his safeties around and will have a few options to mix-and-match players with different roles during Lake’s absence.