One position the Los Angeles Rams have yet to address this offseason is backup quarterback. Matthew Stafford is locked in as the starter again after announcing his return for Year 18 in February, but the Rams don’t have a reliable backup behind him.
Their options in free agency are beginning to dry up, too.
On Tuesday alone, four backup QB moves were made official. Zach Wilson signed with the Saints, Joe Flacco re-signed with the Bengals, Trevor Siemian (yes, he’s still in the NFL) signed with the Falcons and Andy Dalton’s trade to the Eagles became official.
The good news is that Jimmy Garoppolo remains available, which is a fairly surprising development. Sean McVay even said earlier this offseason that he expected Garoppolo to have a strong market, potentially even heading to Arizona to join Mike LaFleur on the Cardinals’ roster. But instead, the Cards signed Gardner Minshew, seemingly taking them out of the Garoppolo sweepstakes.
Nate Atkins of The Athletic reported recently that the Rams are still “interested in bringing back Jimmy Garoppolo,” an indication that that ship hasn’t sailed. But his market is “fluid.”
The Rams don’t seem to be in any rush to sign Garoppolo (or another backup quarterback) at the moment, which begs the question of what their plan is. Do they like Stetson Bennett enough to make him the QB2 behind Stafford? Do they plan to draft someone to compete for the job with Bennett? Are they waiting for Garoppolo’s price to come down?
It’s hard to imagine Garoppolo being too expensive for the Rams after signing one-year deals in each of the last two offseasons. So maybe it’s Garoppolo who’s waiting to see if there’s an opportunity for him to compete for a starting job. Last year, they agreed to a deal with Garoppolo on March 10, and he signed on March 19 the year prior, so they got him under contract fairly early in free agency the last two years.
Other available options for Los Angeles now include Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson and Tyrod Taylor. Cooper Rush is also available after being cut by the Ravens. Garoppolo would be a better choice than all of them, given his familiarity with the Rams’ offense.
It’s not urgent that the Rams sign a backup quarterback right now because there is still the draft, but the options behind Stafford are becoming somewhat limited after Wilson, Flacco and Siemian came off the board. It’s not a “run” on backup quarterbacks, per se, but teams besides the Rams are clearly addressing the position right now.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: With backup QB options drying up, what is Rams’ plan behind Stafford?
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
