LA Rams news: John Wolford is the leading candidate as backup QB

Get ready LA Rams fans because if Jared Goff gets hurt, John Wolford is the starting QB

Everybody loves a rags-to-riches story, especially if it is sports-related. LA Rams backup quarterback John Wolford is one horrendous play away of starring in that Hollywood role. He is the leading candidate to become the LA Rams backup quarterback for the 2020 NFL season.

His story is a familiar saga. The star high school quarterback gets a scholarship to play college quarterback at an ACC school, Wake Forest. Wolford took control of the team as a freshman and never looked back.

In college, he completed 761 passes for 8,794 yards with 59 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 126.5 despite throwing 41 interceptions. Wolford was a very efficient college quarterback.

In every Hollywood movie, there is a plot twist. Wolford was not drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. His dream appeared to come crashing down. However, the New York Jets signed him as an undrafted rookie but was cut before Week 1 of the regular season. Wolford was then drafted and signed to play for the Arizona Hotshots of the now-defunct AAF. Doesn’t that sound sort of familiar? Seems like another Rams quarterback played in the Arena League before making it big with the Rams of a different city. Please, let me caution you, do not confuse the two players.

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Wolford signed with LA after the AAF folded in April. He was the third quarterback behind Goff and veteran backup Blake Bortles. This offseason, Wolford appears to be getting his chance to prove his abilities since the Rams let Bortles walk away to free agency.

Wolford is not your prototypical sized quarterback, whose current dimensions average 6-feet-3 and weighing 210 pounds. He stands 6-feet-1 weighing 200 pounds. Bill Walsh might say he is too short to play quarterback in the NFL.

Wolford has only played in preseason games as an NFL quarterback. In 2019, he played in all four exhibitions and made an impressive showing, completing 25 passes for 249 yards with three touchdowns. It was that performance that likely allowed him to earn a spot on the team over Brandon Allen. And despite my own concern, the Rams did not feel a need to add a veteran to compete for the backup quarterback role. Perhaps the Rams appreciate his competitive spirit?

Most of all, Wolford spent the 2019 season in the Rams offensive system. He knows the ins and outs of each designed play. Now that LA has a new offensive coordinator, Wolford can see and study the new playbook. The only thing lacking with Wolford is real game experience.

Now that the Rams have added two additional quarterbacks to battle for the third spot, Wolford is the presumed second string who will be expected to help mentor the incoming rookies. Hopefully, he can stand on the sideline all season as Goff’s backup. Let’s see how things play out.