For Week 3 of the 2026 preseason, the Rams face off against the Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium (7 p.m. PT, KCAL), where both teams will have one final game of action before the regular season.
Here are five who fans should be paying attention to:
Simpson is the only quarterback confirmed to play on Thursday against the Chargers. Through two preseason games, he's gone 29-for-37 passing with 263 yards and two touchdowns, resulting in a 114.3 quarterback rating. He's also added 9 yards on the ground with a long of 8 yards.
"Ty did a great job against Kansas City and last week getting in and out of the huddle, the operation, being able to get through progressions," head coach Sean McVay said Tuesday. "I think he's consistently making good decisions."
On Tuesday, McVay confirmed that the Rams will carry three quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster, and the preseason finale will be Simpson's final shot to show off his offseason growth so far in game action with the Rams before the regular season hits.
Tacking on 103 yards on the ground and a touchdown through the Rams' first two preseason games, Hunter leads the team in both rushing categories and could have an opportunity to receive more snaps on Thursday against the Chargers to boost his resume heading into the regular season. Those 103 yards have also come on just 21 carries, good for 4.9 yards per attempt.
"It was an awesome run by Jarquez Hunter to be able to get the last touchdown," McVay said postgame Saturday after Hunter's touchdown against the Saints. "I think it will probably go down as a rushing stat when Ty got through the progressions and threw a lateral to him on a check down. He makes an incredible amount of guys miss, takes a big hit and pops up. Looked like he was talking crap to the sideline too."
Based on the first two preseason games, he'll likely work alongside Jordan Waters and Dean Connors for snaps at the running back position. Waters and Connors have each shown upside with Waters averaging 6.1 yards per attempt on 15 carries and Connors hauling in the two receiving touchdowns from Simpson. Thursday will be a chance for Hunter to continue to stand out in the run game as a tough, physical runner like he has so far this preseason.
After recording eight receptions for 37 yards against the Chiefs in Week 1 of the preseason, Klare had four receptions for 12 yards against the Saints last week. Part of the slight drop off from week to week was due to the production by the wide receivers around him against the Saints as CJ Daniels, Alex Bachman, Tyler Scott and Brennan Presley all had 35 or more receiving yards.
On a roster with a deep tight end room, and with tight end Davis Allen still working through his quad injury and returning to individual-drill capacity on Monday, the preseason has been a great opportunity for Klare to showcase his blocking and receiving skills for the Rams.
The undrafted rookie out of Louisville has certainly impressed so far this preseason. Bailey has seven tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, four quarterback hits and one forced fumble through the first two games, the latter included the sack, quarterback hits and forced fumble. McVay emphasized how his presence was felt throughout last week's game against the Saints.
"There are certain guys you feel on defense where you know they're making their presence felt and that was how I felt about 'Wes' Bailey all day today," McVay said.
Another undrafted rookie that has stacked two strong games is Hamilton, coming out of Fresno State. Hamilton has accumulated nine total tackles with two passes defended and an interception. The interception was "a dream come true" for Hamilton against the Saints as he looks to build on his previous two performances heading into the final preseason game against the Chargers.
"(I'm) just learning from my my older teammates, my vets, taking in everything they're teaching me, and then made a play because of it," Hamilton told therams.com, detailing his interception.
