What will Carson Wentz show LA Rams fans in Week 18?

I: Rams need to see If Wentz can develop into Stafford's successor

If you are not thinking about the eventual successor on the LA Rams to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, you are not aligning with the LA Rams front office's line of thinking right now. Filling a successor role in terms of the Rams' strategy is not as name-focused as some fans may believe it to be. In short, the Rams front office is seeking a player who can check off all the items on the required list of attributes, who fits the budget, and who can be productive in the LA Rams offensive system.

For 2023, Wentz's $770,000 salary certainly fits the Rams tight budgetary constraints. And after weeks of practice with Rams players, the front office and coaching staff likely have a fair understanding of what Carson Wentz may be capable of in the pocket when running the LA Rams offense and plays. But practices can only reveal so much about an NFL player.

The Rams need to witness how Wentz handles himself in the offense, and how well he can improvise if and when the play breaks down. Many of the knocks against Wentz that have been rumored to lead to his downfall in other offenses consists of the same reputation as former Rams quarterback Jared Goff. Namely, Wentz cannot read his progressions quickly and effectively.

We know how well that turned out for Goff after the 2020 NFL season.

Every NFL quarterback comes with a list of what they can do well, and what they cannot do well. For any rookie who joins the league, the list of what they cannot do well is long, and only gets shorter over time. For Carson Wentz, now in his eighth NFL season, he has likely shortened his cannot do well list about a far as he can.

Will Wentz be another veteran quarterback wunderkind in the LA Rams offense. That is the hope of the LA Rams, Rams fans, and Carson Wentz. No NFL GM or analyst was particularly high on Baker Mayfield when he joined the Rams in 2022. But after Mayfield proved that he could still play at the level of the NFL, and had fun while doing so, his entire career turned around.

Stay tuned, as this is a rapidly developing story that could have a huge impact for the future of the LA Rams.