In the wake of Matthew Stafford’s extended hiatus due to a lingering thumb injury, the Los Angeles Rams have agreed to terms with Carson Wentz.
In the wake of Matthew Stafford’s extended hiatus due to a lingering thumb injury, the Los Angeles Rams have officially agreed to contract terms with NFL journeyman Carson Wentz. While Wentz’s career has been an emotional rollercoaster from the very start, the Rams are hoping that he has just enough gas left in the tank to keep them afloat until Stafford’s impending return.
In the midst of a 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8, Stafford suffered a sprained UCL in his right thumb. He has not logged any on-field work since the injury. Rams head coach, Sean McVay, noted that the signal-caller “wasn’t anywhere to where we thought he would be able to go for us.”
However, he also reported that Stafford is “making good progress” and has said that Stafford could even return after L.A.’s Week 10 bye, though the validity of that last assertion is worth questioning considering they just went out and purchased a better backup plan.
As a result of Stafford’s injury, the Rams opted to give career backup Brett Rypien the start against the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. Rypien finished with 13 completions, 130 passing yards, and an interception en route to a 20-3 loss where the offense looked positively anemic. Between Stafford needing a bit more time to recover, the Rams having a bye in Week 10, and Rypien’s performance causing the team to slip to a 3-6 record, the conditions were perfect for Los Angeles to seek out an alternative backup QB.
When Wentz was almost an MVP
With the stars having aligned perfectly, Carson Wentz has now been given what could potentially be his last opportunity to solidify a role for himself in the NFL. After being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the number two overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Wentz would have a mild start to his career.
Finishing with 3,782 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a 7-9 regular season record in his rookie year, analysts and fans alike wondered if the Eagles had drafted the wrong guy. However, Wentz would temporarily silence the naysayers. In 2017, Wentz turned things around… big time.
By the time the Eagles were heading into their Week 13 matchup against the Rams with an 11-2 record, Wentz was the odds-on favorite to win the MVP that year. Unfortunately, Wentz tore his ACL while attempting to score a rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Nick Foles stepped in and led the Eagles on one of the most magical Super Bowl runs we’ve ever seen, which had to be enormously bittersweet for Wentz. Ever since that tragic moment in Week 13, Wentz has become arguably the most volatile quarterback in the modern era of the NFL.
After returning to the Eagles starting lineup in Week 3 of the following season, Wentz would begin to battle back troubles for the entirety of the season. While he missed the final three weeks of the campaign, he was able to avoid the need for surgery. He would finish with a 5-6 record, 3,704 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions on the season.
In 2019, Wentz would remain relatively healthy. Starting all 16 games for the Eagles, he led them to a record of 9-7 while throwing for 4,039 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He set career highs in both passing yards and completion percentage and led the Eagles to the playoffs, but in a cruel twist of fate, he was knocked out of his postseason debut with a head injury in the first quarter, and Philly lost the game in his absence.
Wentz’s career takes a nasty turn
Beginning in 2020, Wentz’s struggles with injuries and inconsistency would truly begin to take a toll. It is likely no coincidence that the free fall in his quality of play since 2020 had a lot to do with Philly drafting his supposed successor, Jalen Hurts, in that year’s draft. With Hurts breathing down his neck, Wentz went 3-8-1 and threw a career-high 15 interceptions with a meager 2,620 passing yards.
In Week 14, he was benched for Hurts, and the North Dakota native never played for the Eagles again. Eventually, the Philadelphia would trade Wentz for a 2021 third-round pick (No. 84 overall) and a 2022 first-round pick (No. 16 overall) from the Indianapolis Colts. Despite sustaining a few minor injuries that season, Wentz managed to start all 17 games for Indy.
However, after an embarrassing 26-11 late season loss to the then 2-14 Jacksonville Jaguars in a game they needed to win if they wanted to make the playoffs, the Colts had seen enough of Wentz. For the second straight year, Wentz was traded. This time he was sent alongside a 2022 second and seventh-round picks to the Washington Commanders in exchange for second and third-round picks in 2022 and a conditional 2023 third-rounder.
Wentz didn’t last long in the nation’s capital. He finished his time in Washington with a record of 2-5, a somber sum of 1,755 passing yards, and a QBR of 34.4, the lowest of his career. On February 27, 2023, the Commanders released Wentz.
Pros and cons of Wentz in Los Angeles
On paper, there is still plenty for the Rams to be optimistic about in signing Wentz. If he can stay healthy, he still maintains a relatively high ceiling. Wentz’s ability to escape collapsing pockets should come in handy with a Rams offensive line that has allowed the sixth most sacks in the league since 2022.
Additionally, his arm strength should pair well with the talented receiving duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. That pair of receivers represents by far the best cache of weapons at Wentz’s disposal since he departed Philadelphia. Rypien has already revealed the worst-case scenario for Los Angeles, so right now, all they need is a veteran who can manage a game script. Wentz, theoretically at least, should be able to handle that.
Another positive working in Wentz’s favor is the lack of pressure he will be under. Unlike in Indianapolis and Washington, where he was brought in to improve on their standard of quarterback play as the starter and leader of the team, this situation is relatively low pressure. Stafford is clearly the guy, and expectations are lower than Walmart rollback prices for Wentz at this point in his career. It could just be the perfect situation.
On the flip side, as mentioned, the Rams’ offensive line has been one of the worst pass protection units in the league recently. Given Wentz’s lengthy injury history, in addition to him coming off of the worst season of his career, this could spell disaster for the Rams.
An injury-prone, mistake-prone signal-caller who has not played quality football in a long time could in fact be the nail in the coffin for the 3-6 Rams this season. Or, this low-risk, high-reward situation could revive what was once the most promising young QB career in the NFL. While only time may tell what the results will be for Carson Wentz and his new temporary home, it’s safe to say that the confidence of the Los Angeles faithful is shaky at best.
