Why LA Rams signing of Carson Wentz could be turning point for team

III: Wentz gives Rams a bonafide NFL QB behind Stafford

As soon as the LA Rams placed rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett on the IR/NFI list, the Rams roster has a glaringly obvious hole in the roster behind starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Rams were content to go with just two quarterbacks, but soon discovered the flaw in that strategy when Stafford injured the thumb of his throwing hand.

I don't mean to disparage veteran backup quarterback Brett Rypien, but he had a limited number of appearances in his NFL career, had never thrown for more than 225 yards in any one game, and had never thrown for more than one touchdown in a game. Career-wise, Rypien has completed 98 of 168 passes for 960 yards, four touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Nothing about his NFL career screams "I can win." in the NFL.

Carson Wentz can win in the NFL

The soon-to-be addition to the Rams roster may not be everyone's cup of tea. But he can win NFL games on the strength of his throwing arm. Over the course of his seven-year NFL career with three different NFL teams, Wentz has engineered 11 fourth-quarter comebacks and 12 game winning drives.

Wentz has 92 career starts over the course of his NFL career. He has completed 2056 of 3284 passes for 22,129 yards, 151 touchdowns and 66 interceptions. Regardless of where his NFL career stands right now, when he was drafted in 2016, he was considered to be in a virtual tie with former Rams quarterback Jared Goff in terms of NFL potential. Right now, Goff has the Detroit Lions rolling right along with a record of 6-2, and completing 200 of 293 passes for 2,174 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions. If you recall, many Rams fans lobbied hard for the Rams to get rid of Goff outright. It appears that the most vocal of fans are not always savvy in terms of assessing the quality of players.

Wentz has been a player whose value has taken a huge hit of late. A five-year starter for the LA Rams, Wentz has subsequently had one-year stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders. Still, even in his past two seasons with two different NFL teams, Wentz has completed 494 of 792 passes (62.4 percent completion rate) for 5,318 yards, 38 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions.

Those numbers are nothing to sneeze at.