LA Rams entrust QB Bryce Perkins with game one win

The LA Rams may have a lot of quality depth at several positions, the type of depth that truly has 31 NFL salivating. You see, other teams bask in the knowledge that at some point over the span of the next couple of weeks, the Rams will need to cut players. Those players who sit on the NFL bubble not only deserve to be on an NFL team but have earned the right to play this season.

The Rams roster is packed at offensive line, defensive backs, and young talent on both defense and offense. But the team is content to sit tight with three quarterbacks on the roster. They are the same three quarterbacks who are all but guaranteed roster spots on the Rams roster.

It’s a system that the Rams deployed in the 2021 NFL season. The Rams assigned the preseason games to backup quarterback Bryce Perkins, the primary scout team and backup duties to quarterback John Wolford, and running the first-team offense to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.

After winning Super Bowl LVI last season, the Rams are not changing their approach this year.

In the end, the LA Rams front office and coaching staff have earned the benefit of the doubt. The team seemed to have an almost clairvoyant ability to know when to reinforce the Rams roster in 2021, and who to sign to help the team continue to win.

Rams roster: Bryce Perkins plays hard

While the Rams have encouraged competition throughout OTAs and training camp, the reality is that for the past two years, the team’s quarterback situation has been the sacred cow for the team. It makes sense for the team to view the starting quarterback position as carved into stone, but the roles for both John Wolford and Bryce Perkins are fixed as well.

The truth is that the Rams quarterback situation could be incredibly effective all the way to QB3, or not. And we have little evidence to argue one way or the other.

What evidence we do have is that the Rams won a preseason game thanks to the incredible chemistry between quarterback Bryce Perkins and undrafted rookie wide receiver Lance McCutcheon.

It was not a particularly demanding offensive outing for Perkins. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams rushed 35 times for just 109 yards in the game, with Perkins rushing eight times for 39 yards. And that is what is both promising and perplexing for the Rams.

The team had a minor quarterback competition in the 2021 preseason. But the team cut veteran quarterback Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges after Perkins demonstrated a command of the offense. In 2022, the team cut backup QB, Luis Perez, without his playing a single offensive snap in the preseason.

Both John Wolford and Bryce Perkins are dual-threat quarterbacks, and they back up a veteran pocket passer Matthew Stafford. Will the strategy work this year as well? The team’s brain trust thinks so. After all, the team entrusted Perkins with running the offense for their first preseason game, and it paid off in the discovery of a surprise wide receiver in Lance McCutcheon who is making a push for the Rams’ 53-man roster.

So who can argue with that kind of success?