Why LA Rams QB John Wolford needs to stay at top of his game

So if you are LA Rams quarterback John Wolford, how do you go about preparing for the 2021 NFL Season? Do you enter this year more motivated than ever? Or do you let the Rams blockbuster trade for another veteran quarterback discourage you a bit, and you wonder if your turn at the helm is nothing more than a pipe dream?

Well, one thing is certain, the LA Rams won’t be drafting a top-ranked quarterback in this draft, that’s for sure. But it still doesn’t address the question of how backup quarterback John Wolford should enter this season. So let’s address that right now.  And at the risk of borrowing the motto of the Boy Scouts of America: Be Prepared.

No, I’m not tempting the fates by hinting at a prolonged absence of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford due to some devastating injury. Rather, the fact is that Stafford gets banged around a lot through the course of a 16 game season. This year? It will be 17 games. And after the 2020 season, with a host of minor injuries. His thumb actually underwent the knife to put everything back into place.

That was a 16 game NFL season with no post-season play.  On paper, Stafford’s season will lengthen by 20 percent with the LA Rams merely if the team falls in the divisional round once more. If the Rams do make it to the Super Bowl, his season will increase in length by over 33 percent. Since he is 33 years old, his body does not heal as quickly as it once did.

And so, backup quarterback John Wolford becomes a chess piece. The Rams could bring Wolford in to mop up games where the Rams hold a sizeable lead. He could also be game-planned in for a specific niche role to spell veteran quarterback Stafford. And he could even be called into duty in the unfortunate instance where Stafford is shaken up on the field.

The Rams had never placed Wolford into a live NFL game situation before 2020. Now that the ice is broken, the door of using Wolford’s mobility and passing arm is swinging wide open, and the Rams could package a host of new plays to take advantage of Wolfords ability to threaten a defense with his arms and his legs.

Of course, all NFL quarterbacks who play behind the starter must be prepared to enter the game at a moment’s notice. But the 2021 NFL season is a bit new, and it’s changed some of the dynamics of the team. A longer season for everyone and the likelihood of playing in post-season for Stafford may force the Rams to manage Matthew Stafford’s snap count whenever possible. That would mean more time, not less, for backup John Wolford to take the field. And that means that John Wolford will need to stay at the top of his game.