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John Wolford aiming to become QB2 now with eyes on starting later
Wolford must beat out the Rams’ other quarterbacks in order to back up Jared Goff this year.
theramswire.usatoday.com
Barring a late signing this summer, the Los Angeles Rams will be betting on a young and inexperienced player to back up Jared Goff at quarterback in 2020. John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and Josh Love will be competing for the QB2 spot, though they’ll do so with very limited on-field work in front of Rams coaches.
Wolford has a leg-up on the other two undrafted rookies based on the fact that he was with the Rams last season, giving him a year of experience in Sean McVay’s system. He’s not taking the competition lightly, though.
While he always prepares as if he’ll be the starter, he’s currently focused on being the No. 2 quarterback now and potentially a QB1 somewhere later. He discussed his goal of being the backup quarterback this year on the Rams Revealed Podcast with J.B. Long, but he’s confident he can work toward becoming a starter at some point.
“In my mind, I have the confidence that I can play at this level, I can be a 2 and work towards being a 1. And that’s just the way I operate and I say that with humility,” he said.
This year is different for Wolford, too. Not only has the offseason been unique in the fact that everything has been remote work, but also because of the threat that the coronavirus pandemic poses on the NFL season.
Injuries will always happen in football and players will miss time as a result, but now they could be sidelined if they test positive for COVID-19. Wolford knows there’s a chance Goff could miss time if he contracts the coronavirus, so he has to be prepared to start at the drop of a hat if something does happen.
“I think any player has to realize the reality of the situation is that at any given week, if any player tests positive – and it could be Thursday or Friday – that you still need to be preparing as if you’re a starter,” he said. “Because the likelihood of that happening, of him not being able to play, is higher with COVID going around. So I like to think that I always take that approach that I’m going to prepare like I’m the starter so whenever that opportunity comes, I’m ready and it’s not going to come as a shock and I’m not going to need an extra week to prepare. That’s been my mindset since I got to the Rams. When I was on the practice squad, I tried to prep like I was the starter and hopefully that has carryover into this season. And god forbid Jared does contract it or something happens in that regard, but I’ll be ready if it does.”
Blake Bortles remains available, among others. The Rams have been unwilling to sign any of them up to this point in the offseason, and unless something goes awry with their current competition among undrafted free agents, it’s unlikely they’ll sign a veteran.
A lot is riding on Wolford to back up Goff, and he’s confident he’ll be able to rise to the occasion – whether there are preseason games or not.
“Obviously you want those reps and I wanted to prove beyond a shred of doubt that I should be the 2, so hopefully we have the two (preseason games) and I’m not going to comment anymore on that because I know that’s in negotiations and it could go down to zero. So I understand the (Players’ Association) saying from a health-risk standpoint, but you want those opporuntities to prove you can get the job done.”
