Keagen Trost's concerning injury update could leave Rams grasping at straws

The Los Angeles Rams will likely be without rookie tackle Keagen Trost for several weeks, head coach Sean McVay said Monday, via beat writer Sara Barshop. Trost left early in the Rams' preseason game Saturday with a hamstring injury. This isn't the update fans wanted to hear.

Unfortunately, it leaves the tackle rotation stretched even thinner with Alaric Jackson awaiting a potential suspension and David Quessenberry, who played 18 snaps last season, the next man up. Not good.

The Rams do have other options. Veteran signing Blake Hance looked solid against the Chiefs. AJ Arcuri, who was curiously absent, could be another name. And, uh, yeah, there's also undrafted rookie Bryce Henderson. 

Oh, boy. It's not like Trost was going to save the day, but as a swing tackle off the bench and a possible starting option if Jackson is indeed suspended, he offered valuable depth. 

Rams need answers before the season starts

What now? Will the Rams be content to pit Quessenberry versus Hance for a starting job in Week 1? If that makes you feel a little queasy, you're not alone. Far from it.

It feels almost certain that general manager Les Snead will add another option, whether via trade or free agency, before season's start. That was already a possibility. With Trost sidelined, it's all but mandatory. Unless, of course, Jackson is not in line to be penalized after all. Maybe the Rams know something we don't. 

Both Jackson and receiver Puka Nacua, currently dealing with his own injury issues, were not among the initial batch of suspensions announced last Friday. There could be two more rounds coming, though, so don't count them safe yet. 

Jackson escaping discipline would change the entire outlook for the first stretch of games. The Rams enjoy no soft launch to the schedule, kicking off against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia and returning stateside to face the Giants in Week 2. From Weeks 3 through 5: at Denver, at Philadelphia, and home against Buffalo. 

Long story short, LA can't afford to fall behind the sticks. Even a two-game absence from Jackson would leave the Rams in need of a sound insurance policy. Fans will recall last season's pie-in-the-face loss during Jackson's absence against the Falcons in Week 17. The Rams entered that game as road favorites by a touchdown. 

If Jackson is disciplined as expected, and if Trost isn't ready to go, Los Angeles will have to make the best of the roster's slim pickings or ink an emergency signing before the season to avoid leaving themselves paper-thin against the Niners on September 10. 

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