LA Rams HC McVay: ‘QB John Wolford will not play in the preseason’

The LA Rams have already gone on record to state that veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford will not participate in any preseason games. Of course, that made sense. Why risk injury to the starting quarterback?  And so, we turned our eyes to the remaining quarterbacks with eager anticipation. It will give the Rams a chance to warm up John Wolford, and give some gamelike experience to the third and likely final quarterback on the roster.

Then, the unthinkable happened. John Wolford woke up one week before the Rams’ first preseason game, complaining of pains in his abdomen. He was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.  At that time, some reported that Wolford would be out from 10-14 days. That timeframe translated to many as though Wolford would play in two or three preseason games. No worries.

But this was a medical condition, which triggers prescribed antibiotics to eliminate the infection.  Those drugs, depending on the ones chosen, can be difficult for the patient on their own. Plus there is the surgery to the abdomen, which is not protected from the errant shoulder or helmet. No physician is okay with directly impacting the site of a surgery. It was enough of a setback at the backup quarterback position for some last-minute lobbying and roster help at the quarterback position. Those options were ignored by the Rams.

No preseason for YOU

Of course, if Wolford would be back to warm up before the season with two preseason games, some felt that adding another quarterback was not necessary. Well, as expected, the LA Rams won’t be putting backup quarterback John Wolford in any preseason games.

That means that three preseason games will be handled by second-year quarterback Bryce Perkins or newly added veteran quarterback ‘Duck’ Devlin Hodges. That’s three games, three preseason games, that will likely be split 50/50 by the pair. Hopefully, there will be no injuries to either player. Hopefully, one or both will play lights out and win the admiration of the fans.

The first preseason contest will be against the LA Chargers and the defense of former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Even if the Rams face their backups, this will be a huge test for the offense. Hopefully one or both will rise to the occasion. In the meantime, it creates a further widening gap between Matthew Stafford and the other guys, as Wolford will not benefit from tuning up his performances in a preseason game environment.

Tough decisions? Or simply decisions that are driven by an empty purse? Who’s to say? It simply seems a curious juxtaposition. On one hand, a very conservative approach of not risking injury to two of four quarterbacks, versus the steadfast insistence that “We’re good” at the very vital role of quarterback. The Rams are gamblers, that’s for certain. But even as I applaud taking risks, there are just some that do not seem to sit as well as others.