‘4 Downs’ with Rich: the Los Angeles Rams’ Biggest Questions ahead of the ‘26 NFL Season

Rich did almost no research for this one, and said so up front. The Rams four downs was the easiest season preview he has done, because there is barely anything left to ask.

First down is the question that has become its own segment.

Is he back yet?

No. He is not. Rich still thinks it is inevitable, though sitting here on the last Wednesday of August you start to wonder. His conclusion is that it does not much matter to the operation. They will take Aaron Donald whenever he wants to be taken, and if he never does, this roster is a fine thing to fall back on.

If he does come back, though. Oh boy.

Second down, and Rich acknowledged how thin this is as a legitimate concern: who is the backup quarterback?

That is genuinely the second-biggest question, because everything else is ready to roll. He knocked on wood before saying it, and for good reason. A year ago at this time the question was whether Matthew Stafford could stand upright, let alone take a snap, and then Stafford went out and had an MVP season.

Still, the honest version is uncomfortable. Could this team win a Super Bowl if it had to go a significant stretch with Stetson Bennett, Ty Simpson or Jimmy Garoppolo? Rich does not know, and he believes the Rams go into the season with one of the young ones.

Third down is health, which Rich admitted is a cop-out he could apply to all 32 teams. Except here it really is the whole thing. If they stay healthy and play at full strength, they win the division and go to the Super Bowl and the rest is any given Sunday.

"What am I going to sit here and wonder about, that running back room, the receiver room, their line? Come on."

Fourth down he tried to spend on Aaron Donald again, was overruled, and produced something better.

How off the hook can Myles Garrett be?

This is the part Rich finds genuinely exciting, because Garrett has never really had this. A winning team. A quarterback who puts points on the board. Fourth-quarter leads to protect, over and over, which means down and distance where he gets to hunt. The scoreboard helps. The offense putting pressure on the other offense helps.

And if Donald comes back, the arithmetic changes again.

The desk went looking for a fourth down anywhere else and mostly came up empty. The one nitpick offered: Davante Adams had 14 touchdowns last year but his lowest receptions and yards of any full season since his rookie year. So if Puka Nacua goes down, who is the real number one? The answer is Adams. The harder question is who is two, or three, or four.

Rich countered with the roster construction. This is a team carrying four tight ends, and they could carry a fifth and sixth, because that is what they do. The tight ends are weapons. The backs are weapons.

The defense he ran through without pausing. Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford and Byron Young on the line, with Garrett listed on the depth chart as a linebacker alongside Nate Landman and Omar Speights. Cam Curl, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Quentin Lake behind them. Two former Chiefs corners, including one who is arguably among the best in the league at 25, an age that is the front end of a prime rather than the back.

Then the coaching staff, which is why the list of questions ends where it does.

Wide receiver three. Quarterback two. Where the hell is Aaron Donald. And how healthy can they stay.