3 objectives as LA Rams QB John Wolford is fixin’ to take on Texans

Keeping punting unit off the field

With the LA Rams having settled on veteran punter Riley Dixon to handle the punting duties for the team for the 2022 NFL season, the need for competition for any of the LA Rams special teams specialists roles has come to a sudden hard halt.

While the Rams needed to see as much of rookie punter/kicker Cameron Dicker as possible before settling in on Dixon (a performance that certainly warrants the team re-signing Dicker to the team’s practice squad), that need to get work for the punting unit is all but diminished now.

So it only makes sense for the Rams’ offense to try to control the game clock, move the chains, and put points on the scoreboard. While that is the goal in any game, now that the special team’s competition is all over but the shouting, the Rams no longer have any benefit from sending the punter out onto the football field.

What will the Rams do at QB this year?

Wolford gives this LA Rams a fresh look. He has more NFL experience than Bryce Perkins, so he will be a bit more attuned to what the Rams are trying to get on video footage. But he is a very mobile quarterback, which will push defenses to handle the Rams’ offensive ground assault even when he drops back to pass.

A recent article by The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue (subscription required) suggests that the LA Rams’ roster riches at some positions may be catalyzing discussions among the coaching staff over the possibility of keeping just two quarterbacks on the team’s active 53-man roster. That has been how the Rams have staffed the position in the past, only deviating from that path in 2021 when the coaches feared Brycen Perkins has put up too many quality performances, negating the chances for the Rams to slide him to the team’s practice squad.

For many reasons, I applaud the decision to pit a very competitive QB John Wolford into the NFL preseason competition. Not only will the team benefit, but it will do wonders to get Wolford far more realistic experience in time for the upcoming season.