The Rams have sunk a ton of assets into the quarterback position over the last six-plus years. They traded up for Jared Goff in 2016, signed him to an extension in 2019 and then traded him to the Lions with a package of picks for Matthew Stafford – who they then gave an extension, as well.
The problem is, they have done very little at the backup spot behind Goff and Stafford. The two guys backing up Stafford are John Wolford and Bryce Perkins, two undrafted free agents who have barely played in the NFL. They haven’t even played that well in the preseason when given the opportunity.
Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Cardinals was an example of how the Rams’ reluctance to sink assets into the backup quarterback spot has hurt them. They’ve gotten away with it because Stafford and Goff are durable players who rarely miss time. But the Rams needed Wolford (or Perkins) to step up in a borderline must-win game against the Cardinals and neither did.
Wolford simply isn’t an NFL-caliber quarterback despite being on the roster for the last three years. He doesn’t have the arm strength or the size to consistently win as a pro. When he was in the pocket on Sunday, he struggled to throw accurately and often sailed passes over his receivers’ heads.
Most of his positive plays came on rollouts and play-action passes where the field was cut in half and he didn’t have 6-foot-6 linemen blocking his vision. That’s not a coincidence. He completed 24 for 36 passes, but he only had 212 yards with one touchdown and a pick.
And of those 212 yards, 65 came in garbage time on the Rams’ final possession. That’s when his lone touchdown pass happened, too. So if you take away that last possession, he was 15-for-27 for 147 yards and an interception. That’s not good.
Next offseason, the Rams have to strongly consider making a move at backup quarterback beyond simply keeping Wolford and/or Perkins on the roster. They should add a proven veteran or draft someone in Round 4 or 5 to potentially develop into Stafford’s successor, whenever the time comes.
It’s hard for a team with so few draft picks and such little cap space to allocate assets to a position that is hopefully never needed, but the Rams can do more than they have. Wolford and Perkins cost zero draft picks and account for a grand total of $1.72 million in cap space this year.
It’s evident neither Wolford nor Perkins are future starters in the NFL and if Stafford were to miss extended time, this team wouldn’t be able to survive.
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