Quentin Lake’s job got a lot more interesting this offseason, and he’s not complicating it.
Asked on “Inside Football” with Trey Wingo how the Rams’ pass rush changes his approach on the back end with Myles Garrett now in Los Angeles and Aaron Donald weighing an unretirement, Lake kept it simple.
“My job really is just to not [expletive] up, honestly,” Lake said. “All the attention is on them. Your back end is, honestly, as good as your rush. If you have guys up there that can get to the quarterback quickly, that can stop the run and rush the passer, it makes our job incredibly easy.”
The Rams immediately reshaped their defensive front with the acquisition of Garrett. It cost them a lot of draft picks and young edge rusher Jared Verse, but now the Rams have one of the most formidable defenses in the league.
Lake said even the possibility of pairing Garrett with a returning Donald changes how offenses have to game-plan. Donald would only make things more interesting, as the three-time DPOY has been working out at the Rams’ facility and going through what head coach Sean McVay called a “very strict, regimented process.”
“You’ve got two, which is I think unheard of, two potentially Defensive Players of the Year up front,” Lake said. “Now, at the end of the day, you just have to do your job and let those guys go do what they do. If it were just Myles, obviously we know where the slide’s going to go to. But if you get AD and Myles, it’s like pick your poison.”
Lake, entering the final stretch of a rebuilt secondary that also added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson this offseason, is coming off a three-year, $42 million extension signed Jan. 1 that runs through 2028.
He’s fully healthy after offseason elbow surgery and has taken on a communication role in camp as the group’s most experienced returning piece, working alongside newcomers to get the back end aligned behind whatever combination of pass rushers L.A. ultimately fields.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Quentin Lake has a blunt assessment of his role next to Myles Garrett
Reporting by Oliver G., Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Oliver G., Rams Wire | USA TODAY Network
