NFL anaylst thinks the time is now for the Rams to hand one of their most underrated players the contract extension he has earned

ESPN urges the Rams to extend Quentin Lake ahead of training camp

"Lake, a sixth-round pick in 2022, has become an important part of the Rams' defense as both a safety and a nickel slot defender. He's a big reason the Rams led the NFL in DVOA against receivers lined up in the slot last season. Lake's rookie contract ends after 2025, and he'll still be only 27 in 2026. It's time for the Rams to make sure he's around for a while."|

- ESPN's one final move for all 32 teams

Quentin Lake has built his NFL career up from the bottom after being selected by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He started 16 games for the teams this past year and proved he deserves to be part of the team's plans going forward. Right now seems like the perfect time to lock him up, with many around the league still underrating him. If he is able to put up another year as solid as what we saw in 2024, I think the league will start to take notice. 

If you let a player coming off back to back career seasons hit the open market, someone is bound to overpay. Getting a deal in front of Lake to sign ahead of training camp would probably be ideal for both sides as they approach training camp. Usually, it's not in the player's best interest to sign an extension early, but in this case, I'm sure the Rams could give him a decent pay raise this season on top of locking him up for