The Los Angeles Rams already boast one of the better pass rushes in football, ranking ninth in the NFL with 27 sacks through 11 weeks. Now, they just added another piece to their arsenal.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz has reported that the Rams have signed former Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Jesse Luketa, who was on his way to enjoying a rather impressive 2024 campaign before a thigh injury ended his season.
In 10 games last year, Luketa logged 21 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble while playing in 30 percent of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps.
Luketa was originally selected by Arizona in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft and didn’t receive much playing time over his first couple of seasons, amassing 14 tackles over his initial two years in the league.
But a few weeks into 2024, the Cardinals began to give Luketa more snaps, and he started to demonstrate decent pass-rushing ability along the edge.
Luketa played his collegiate football at Penn State and actually wasn’t a pass-rushing threat with the Nittany Lions, posting a half of a sack throughout his entire collegiate tenure, so this is a rather new development. He did, however, rack up 61 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and an interception during his final campaign at Happy Valley.
Los Angeles is 8-2 and sits atop the NFC West standings after hammering the Seattle Seahawks in a critical divisional matchup this past Sunday. The Rams have now won five games in a row and absolutely look like Super Bowl contenders.
Byron Young leads LA with nine sacks on the year, and Jared Verse comes in second with four. So the Rams could certainly stand to add some edge-rushing depth, and Luketa could be the answer.
Los Angeles will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday as it aims to inch closer to its third straight playoff appearance.
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