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Baker Mayfield and Greg Gaines won’t be the only past Los Angeles Rams representatives on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs have added former Rams backup quarterback John Wolford to their signal-caller room, the team announced May 9.
John Wolford Became a Trusty Backup in ‘Rams House’
While Wolford obviously wasn’t a cornerstone member of the Rams, he still played one of the more underrated important positions in the league: the backup quarterback.
On two occasions, he had to step into the leader of the offense when Matthew Stafford went down with a spinal cord contusion in 2022. Before that, Wolford was tasked with stepping in for former Rams QB1 Jared Goff.
In the 2020 season finale, the Rams threw in Wolford as the starter and he responded by guiding L.A. to an 18-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Wolford completed 22-of-38 passes for 231 yards, completing 57.9% of his throws and getting picked off once. But he also added a rare mobility dimension for the Rams that afternoon, racking up an average of 9.3 yards per rushing attempt and finishing with six carries for 56 yards.
Wolford played sparingly the following week in the NFC wild-card contest in Seattle, completing 3-of-6 passes for 29 yards and throwing one pick. Goff, though, ultimately took the QB1 reins and finished off the road upset of the NFC West champion Seahawks.
In 2022, Wolford ended up going 1-2 as a starting quarterback. He finished with 38 completions on 62 attempts, 390 yards, one interception and three picks. He also produced 19 first-down passes. Wolford, however, was sacked seven times and was unable to finish the season healthy.
Wolford ended up sustaining a neck injury that hampered him the rest of 2022. His last appearance behind center for the Rams was on December 4, 2022, against the Las Vegas Raiders. That game was best known for the Rams debut of Mayfield, who later ended a six-game losing skid for the Rams.
Reason for John Wolford’s Departure Explained
Wolford, again, emerged as a trustworthy option for the Rams at their most important position on offense. But even following the conclusion of the season, the 27-year-old was facing an uncertain future with the franchise.
Wolford, who started with the New York Jets but eventually played his entire career in L.A., was a free agent after the season. He joined fellow backup Bryce Perkins and Mayfield as the free agent quarterbacks on the Rams.
Now, with Stetson Bennett drafted in the fourth round, Wolford’s time inside the “Rams House” officially came to an end. The Rams took in Bennett not only with the thinking of providing needed depth for Stafford, but also getting a potential QB of the future and a younger option behind Stafford at 25.
Wolford is now in a QB room that features Mayfield and former second-rounder Kyle Trask. The Rams, meanwhile, not only brought in Bennett but also added undrafted free agent Dresser Winn out of Tennessee-Martin and former Denver Bronco plus backup to Russell Wilson Brett Rypien. Case Cookus of Thousand Oaks, California, tops off the current stable of 2023 Rams options behind center.
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