Les Snead defies past priorities with shocking Rams extension of Quentin Lake

A running back, an inside linebacker, and a safety walk into a bar. No, this is not the opening line of a bawdy joke, it's the tale of three veterans on the Lon Angeles Rams roster who are going out to celebrate signed extensions with the team. Yes, you read that right. Three players in positions that seldom find themselves extended have been extended.

Safety Quentin Lake has agreed to a three-year extension worth up to $42 million. Quentin Lake, son of NFL great Carnell Lake, is taking up his father's legacy and proving to be adept as a safety and cornerback. The junior lake was drafted in 2022 out of UCLA in Round 6 with the 211th overall selection.

Now in the final year of his rookie contract, Lake has been instrumental in filling in as a versatile defensive back who is adept at playing nearly any defensive role, short of a down defensive lineman. Despite only appearing in 10 games this year, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound safety has 61 tackles, 10 deflected passes, 1.0 quarterback sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two tackles for a loss.

He has only allowed 61.7 of the passes targeting his receiver to find their mark.

Les Snead defies past priorities with shocking Rams extension of rising star

What makes this extension so shocking? Well, this team has seldom extended a safety in the past, despite outstanding performance. General manager Les Snead was content to allow safety John Johnson III to sign a huge contract with the Cleveland Browns in 2021, despite the team benefiting from his Pro Bowl-worthy performance in 2020.

So, why would the team jump to extend Quentin Lake?

Much like the extension of veteran inside linebacker Nate Landman, there may be other concerns driving this extension. After all, defensive coordinator Chris Shula continues to be viewed as a likely head coach for an NFL team in 2026. The last thing Los Angeles needs is to try luring a free agent back to the team if they have an opportunity to follow Shula elsewhere.

Landman is staying around. Now Lake is as well.

But there is more at work here. Lake is a plug-and-play veteran in many defensive roles. That gives the defense an immeasurable advantage by allowing a base defense to handle multiple offensive formations. That allows the team to stockpile players at other positions.

But the most irrefutable reason for this extension is the undeniable impact he makes on the defense's performance. Since he has fallen to injury, this defense has allowed nearly 30 points per game. With Lake on the field, offenses struggle to score half that amount.

This is a superb signing. With Lake re-signed, the shopping list for the 2026 NFL Draft just shrank. But don't expect this team to be done just yet. Other extensions could happen as well.

As always, thanks for reading.