Rams taking QB succession seriously if new hires are a clue to team's 2024 strategy

Past success of investing in role

The team has not been in the habit of investing in recognizable free agent quarterbacks to sit in the quarterback room. In fact, the team has not invest a draft pick into the position either, which is a curious history considering that much of the Rams offense depends almost entirely upon having a capable quarterback under center.

When the Rams roster was hammered with injuries in 2022, the necessity to land a starting quarterback who had some moxy to improvise forced the team to roll out of their lane. That meant that the team was desperate enough to give former 2018 NFL Draft first overall pick Baker Mayfield a shot at running the Rams offense, despite the tarnished reputation he had suffered by failing to win consistently with either the Cleveland Browns or the Carolina Panthers.

He showed no signs of being washed up in the Rams offense, quickly learning the playbook to lead the team just hours after disembarking from the plane that brought him to Los Angeles, California.

While once may have been an anomaly, lightning struck twice for the team when the front office reached an agreement with veteran quarterback Carson Wentz. Similar to Mayfield's situation, Wentz was a highly compensated quarterback who started for the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, and finally Washington Commanders, failing to meet expectations despite signing highly compensated contracts with those teams.

And just like Mayfield, Wentz showed up in a huge win for the team in Week 18, halting an ongoing regular season losing streak to the San Francisco 49ers and proving that the right guy in the pocket can be a huge factor in determining the future success of this team.

It appears now that the LA Rams may have concluded that investing into the quarterback room is worth the effort. Now the question is: How will the team address the backup quarterback role for 2024?