Los Angeles Rams sign S Quentin Lake

Quentin Lake's three-year, $38.25M signing ($12.75M AAV) earns a C Contract Value Index (CVI)—a deal that reflects reasonable market positioning for a depth-to-mid-tier safety but lands just short of genuine value territory given the current safety market and Lake's production pedigree. As a backup-to-spot-starter caliber defender, Lake occupies the middling tier of the position: capable enough to eat snaps and contribute in rotation, but not the franchise-caliber centerpiece that justifies premium salary in today's pass-heavy NFL. The $12.75M AAV sits squarely in the solid-starter-to-above-average range for safeties, a price point that assumes consistent two-deep usage and special-teams contribution rather than Pro Bowl-caliber play. The CVI reflects a structural misalignment: Lake's on-field profile does not clearly justify this investment relative to what the market typically extracts for safeties of his ilk, meaning the Rams are paying modestly above replacement cost without the upside ceiling that resets value equations. In the context of a 12-5 playoff team filling depth, the signing is defensible as organizational continuity, but it does not represent the kind of contract steals that contenders can exploit during championship windows—the Rams are paying market rate for a replacement-level option, which is neither brutal nor shrewd.