David Carr did not bury the concern. He said the Los Angeles Rams’ tackle depth behind Alaric Jackson and Warren McClendon was “terrifying,” and tied that warning directly to Matthew Stafford, the 38-year-old quarterback the Rams have to keep upright if they want their offense to function on schedule.
The timing matters because the Rams are coming off a 12-win regular season and Stafford is still carrying the memory of a back injury that threatened to sideline him for the start of the 2025 campaign. Carr’s point was not that Los Angeles lacks a strong front-line plan. It was that the margin behind the starters could get thin fast if the season turns into a grind. A reader tracking Stafford’s outlook would also see why his name keeps popping up alongside other Rams quarterback discussions, including coverage such as Nfl Today: Dan Orlovsky ranks Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford atop QB traits and Ty Simpson adds a new layer to Matthew Stafford’s Rams future.
On NFL Gameday Kickoff on August 29, Carr said the Rams look good on the surface and praised Sean McVay for being able to scheme the offense well enough to be “fine” as long as the team can play the game “on their terms.” But Carr drew a hard line at what happens if that script breaks. If the Rams have to “go throw it around,” he said, the tackle situation becomes far more worrisome, especially with Alaric Jackson facing a potential suspension.
That is where the comparison to Carr’s own career comes in. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2002 and spent five seasons with the Texans, where protection was a recurring problem as a rookie. Houston later spent two offseasons reshaping its offensive line, a reminder of how quickly a team can be forced into repairs when it cannot protect its passer. The Texans have also gotten stronger around C.J. Stroud, a Pro Bowler and the Offensive Rookie of the Year in his rookie season, even as he has dealt with a narrative of regression since then.
Carr’s warning is not that the Rams are in crisis. It is that the weakness he sees behind the tackles could matter most in the one place Los Angeles can least afford slippage: around Stafford. If Jackson’s status turns and the depth chart is tested, the question will not be whether McVay can draw up answers. It will be whether the Rams can keep Stafford clean long enough for those answers to matter.
