Rams CB Trent McDuffie misses practice, listed as questionable against Cardinals with a groin injury

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cornerback Trent McDuffie has a groin injury that could prevent him from playing in the Los Angeles Rams’ game against Arizona on Sunday.

Coach Sean McVay said McDuffie picked up the injury near the end of Thursday’s practice, and the Rams held him out of Friday’s practice. McDuffie will be listed as questionable for the Rams’ home game against the Cardinals.

McDuffie has been outstanding in his first season with his hometown Rams, who traded four draft picks to Kansas City last March for the former All-Pro. McDuffie then agreed to a four-year, $124 million contract extension through 2030.

McDuffie has 16 tackles and one interception in his first five games with the Rams, largely shutting down every receiver lined up against him. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads all NFL cornerbacks with a 21.1 passer rating allowed.

McDuffie has received credit for seven passes defended, the same number he had in 13 games with the Chiefs last season.

Safety Kam Curl also missed Friday’s practice because of an ankle injury. He is also listed as questionable for Sunday, potentially leaving the Rams (2-3) without two of their most important defensive backs.

McVay had no update on the status of Myles Garrett, who will miss his fifth straight game Sunday following knee surgery. The Rams want Garrett to proceed at a comfortable pace as the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year works to get into game shape after he struggled in his zero-tackle Rams debut in Australia last month.

“I think it’s important to get him back out there, so I would never want to have that misunderstood,” McVay said. “But I’m not a doctor, so what I want to be able to do is trust those guys, and the key thing … is let’s have him return to performance. There’s benchmarks that you want to hit in the midst of this rehab and recovery. He’s hitting all of those. What that means to actually getting back and playing real football, that is where we are truly week-to-week.

“There’s a lot of urgency. I would love to have him back out there, but not at the expense of rushing him back.”

Quessenberry steps in

David Quessenberry will make his first NFL start since 2023 when he steps in for suspended Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson on Sunday.

The 36-year-old lineman has barely played on offense for the past two years, and he has taken only 18 offensive snaps in a Rams uniform. He welcomes the challenge.

“This is kind of why I’m here — for when things like this happen,” Quessenberry said. “I’m ready to go. This is what I’ve worked for. I’ve played this position my whole life, so go out there on Sunday and play ball. I’m fired up.”

Quessenberry has been forced into action because Jackson got himself suspended for punching Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb after the Rams’ overtime loss to Buffalo on Monday night. Jackson’s two-year ban was reduced to one game on appeal.

The Rams clearly trust Quessenberry to come through despite his lack of recent action, since they didn’t sign another backup left tackle even with Jackson’s history of both misbehavior and blood clots in his leg. Quessenberry is a 10-year NFL veteran with his fifth team but he was a full-time starter in just one of those seasons, for Tennessee in 2021.

“He’s a consummate pro,” McVay said of Quessenberry. “Even though it’s been a little bit of time, he still has played a lot of good, meaningful snaps, had some good, stressful downs. He takes a bunch of snaps with our first offense all the time just because of the nature of some of the things we’ve had to manage with Alaric’s blood clot stuff and some different times that he’s missed. I do feel confident in him. He has a great look in his eye and he’s a Ram through and through.”

Quessenberry is the Rams’ top backup at both tackle positions, and he has embraced the opportunity to concentrate on only one side of the line while game-planning this week.

“I actually enjoy it more,” he said. “When you’re the swing guy, preparing for both sides, there’s a lot of situations where you don’t know how it’s going to play out. Going into the game knowing you’re going to start, it’s nice. In the preparation, you’re studying just left tackles, and it’s cool.”

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