Rams pass rushing quartet channeling that 'Fearsome Foursome' energy while they can
Jared Verse knew something of the legends.
The Rams' famed defensive line of the 1960s, which featured ends Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy and tackles Merlin Olsen and Rosey Grier, terrorized opposing quarterbacks.
During an October fashion shoot, Verse, the Rams' 25-year-old star edge rusher, met Grier, at 93 the only living member of the Fearsome Foursome.
“It was crazy, not just to see a living legend but somebody that played at a high level in the league,” Verse said. “To be able to meet him and sit down with him, it was cool.”
Grier also welcomed the opportunity to meet Verse, the reigning NFL defensive rookie of the year.
“I was very impressed with his countenance, courtesy and respect toward me,” Grier said in an email.
Verse, edge rusher Byron Young and defensive ends Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske showed their respect for the Fearsome Foursome over the summer.
Fiske said the linemen had seen a famous photo of the Fearsome Foursome in a social media post. During the Rams’ media day in June, the players made an impromptu request to recreate it.
“The coolest part about it is we’re talking about that group 50 to 60 years later,” Fiske said. “I mean, that’s unbelievable. ... For a whole group to make their mark is something that is still considered one of the best is something we chase.”
The Rams' young front is making its mark.
Turner was a finalist for NFL defensive rookie of the year in 2023. Verse won the award last season, and Fiske was a finalist.
Young, a third-year pro, has nine sacks this season, tied for sixth most in the NFL.
“We know we’re in a group that’s feared and will continue to be feared because of the work we put in and what we show on Sundays,” Turner said.
During the offseason, to bolster the run defense, the Rams signed veteran nose tackle Poona Ford. The front also includes Tyler Davis, Larrell Murchison, Nick Hampton and rookies Josaiah Stewart and Ty Hamilton.
“It’s a group that’s really connected,” coach Sean McVay said, adding, “The way they bring our style of play to life, it’s really fun to be around.”
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan noted before the Nov. 9 game between the teams that the Rams' “front five, the guys they keep on the line of scrimmage usually is probably the best in the NFL.”
The front has helped lead the Rams to an 8-2 record heading into Sunday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at SoFi Stadium.
Future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year for the Rams, will be honored before and during the Sunday game. Donald has been impressed by the young front’s play.
The Rams rank ninth in the league with 27 sacks, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. They are tied for sixth with 98 quarterback pressures and seventh with 37 quarterback hurries.
“It’s not just the sack numbers, it's the pressure they're putting on the quarterback, making them uncomfortable, getting quarterbacks off their spot, not allowing quarterbacks to step into their throws at times,” Donald said a few days after the line pressured Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold into four interceptions. “I think that's the way you want to impact the game as a pass rusher.”
Grier and his former linemates did that and more after he was traded to the Rams by the New York Giants in 1963.
Being a part of the Fearsome Foursome was “an incredible experience,” he said, noting that the players became close friends off the field as well.
“We truly cared about each other and we wanted to see each one of us individually and collectively be successful as a defensive line, and again on and off the field ... that being one of our main strengths,” he said.
The Rams’ young group has played very well and is improving every game, said Grier, a minister and philanthropist who also has been a singer and actor.
As they move forward in their careers, it will be important to “stay in shape” in more than a physical sense.
“Mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally,” Grier said. “To remember that it takes each one of them.”
How long the Rams can keep the group together remains to be seen.
Unlike the 1960s, teams must adhere to a salary cap and players can take full advantage of free agency.
Young and Turner are eligible for extensions after this season. Fiske and Verse will be eligible after next season, though the Rams have a fifth-year option on Verse, the 19th player selected in the 2024 draft.
“We want to be able to take advantage of every moment that we get together,” Fiske said, “because, like it or not, this probably won’t always be the group that’s here forever.”
The group is motivated by that thought, Verse said.
“We go out to practice like, ‘We got to make this last. Don’t know how long this is going to go,’” he said. “Hopefully, we can play with each other our whole careers. But the more sacks [Young] gets, the more tackles Kobie gets, the more dominant plays Fiske has, the more I do, the chance goes lower.”
The Rams, however, have plenty of salary-cap space the next few years. They will have nearly $90 million in 2026 and are projected to have the second-most cap in the league in 2027, according to Overthecap.com.
Receiver Puka Nacua is on track for a massive extension after this season, but the Rams have the budget to potentially keep the defensive line together.
“There’s no, ‘All right, I’ve made it,’” Turner said. “There’s still so much to prove, so much to show. You combine that hunger with the camaraderie, with the way that we just love being out there together and playing the game all together — that’s something that’s dangerous.”
In the tradition of the Fearsome Foursome and other legendary lines such as the Minnesota Vikings' "Purple People Eaters," the Pittsburgh Steelers’ "Steel Curtain" and the Dallas Cowboys’ "Doomsday Defense" among others, Rams linemen said they have playfully discussed nicknames of their own.
“They had their time, and now we have our time to make a name,” Young said.
There have been many suggestions, the players said. But none that has yet to be adopted.
“If one shows up that’s really nice,” Turner said, “then we’ll rock with it.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
