The Los Angeles Rams are viewed as the best team in the NFL heading into the 2026 season with the league’s current MVP in Matthew Stafford and Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett.
Recently, NBC football play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico weighed in on the Rams’ current situation while speaking with ESPN’s Pat McAfee and for the most part, Tirico echoed many of the talking points surrounding the Rams’ offseason. Tirico backed the idea that Garrett’s record-setting production could compound now that he’s with a winning organization, while sharing his general thoughts about a potential return for Aaron Donald.
Tirico also shared an interesting tidbit. Tirico, who works for NBC, used to do Monday Night Football with Jon Gruden. Gruden, the former Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, is a mentor of Sean McVay. Gruden gave McVay his first NFL job, while Jon’s brother, Jay, and McVay are close. McVay worked under Jay Gruden in the Arena Football League and previously in Washington.
Tirico shared what Gruden used to say.
“If I heard it once, I heard 1000 times from Jon Gruden,” stated Tirico. “Fourth quarter pass rush wins games.”
The Rams have already displayed their attention on the defensive line by adding a talent like Garrett. However, one would assume that if Gruden was saying that to Tirico in the booth, he had to have been hammering such a point home to his coaches.
While that phrase is a standard saying, the Rams are entering an odd position. They have a lot of expiring deals, and no player within their 2023 class has gotten paid yet. Considering what Tirico said about Gruden and what the Rams have already done this offseason, everything is pointing towards the Rams offering both Kobie Turner and Byron Young extensions.
Turner is a team captain, and Young is a Pro Bowler and sack machine. Those two, along with Garrett and others, will be the Rams’ insurance for now and the future. The Rams know they can win with Stafford now. However, if Ty Simpson has to go into the game, he’ll need a defensive line that wins to be his insurance. Now, he’s in a position to have it.
At some point, the Rams will have to make sacrifices, and if all signs are correct, those sacrifices will not be felt on the defensive line. At least not soon.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Mike Tirico: Myles Garrett and Rams’ ‘dangerous defense’ will close out games
Reporting by Brock Vierra, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brock Vierra, Rams Wire | USA TODAY Network
