Top Ten Rams Quarterbacks All Time

[Ground Chuck]

I've seen these lists over the years, but I thought I'd put together an updated list for 2025.

As the Rams get ready to start camp for the 2025 season, with perhaps the most excitement since the eventual 2021 Super Bowl winner opened summer camp, let's take a look at the top ten players that have played the most important position on the team, Quarterback, since the 1937 inception of the Cleveland Rams.

1. Kurt Warner - His story is perhaps the greatest rags-to-riches story in NFL history. 1999 out of nowhere, "We will rally around Kurt Warner, and we will play good football", became an amazingly prophetic understatement, and Warner slayed the loser-label the Rams bore for nearly the entire decade of the '90's. The Rams won their first Super Bowl in franchise history, and nearly repeated the feat in 2001, creating a mini-dynasty of the Greatest Show on Truth, were it not for the Cheatriots. Kurt started only 50 games for the Rams, (was 35-15 .700 winning percentage) and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

2. Norm Van Brocklin- (65 starts 42-20-3 .669) Drafted by the Rams in 1949, Van Brocklin initially platooned in an unusual and successful offensive system with Bob Waterfield. The Rams had a prolific passing attack with Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazy legs" Hirsch at the receiving end of the ball. NVB still holds the single game record of 554 yards in 1951 game and the Los Angeles Rams won their first pre-Superbowl title that year. Van Brocklin is enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

3. Matthew Stafford- (57 starts 34-23 .596) Brought over in a shocking and exciting trade before the 2021 season, Matthew Stafford immediately led the Rams to their first Superbowl title in the city of Los Angeles. Stafford continued his legacy from the Lions of toughness, a strong arm, and a true leader. The future hall of Famer is still at the top of his game, and could move his way to the top of this list before he retires.

4. Bob Waterfield- (Only 22 starts! 14-8 .636) Sole entry on this list from the Cleveland era, Waterfield's #7 is retired by the Rams, and he led the Cleveland Rams to the 1945 Championship. He was one of the best passers, punters and kickers in his era. Bob Waterfield is a Hall of Famer, and the man was married to Jane Russell. So, there's that.

5. Roman Gabriel- (Team most 119 starts 74-39-6 .647) The much-loved Gabriel led the Rams throughout the late 1960's and early 1970's. Roman was NFL MVP in 1969. The 4-time pro-bowler led the league in passing touchdowns twice and passing yards in 1969. Sadly, the Rams did not enjoy any playoff success under Gabriel, and he was later traded to the Eagles.

6. Jim Everett- (105 starts 46-59 YIKES! .438) The franchise record holder in yards and second in total starts can't fall too far down the list. Jim Everett was very talented and competitive in the late '80's but is certainly tainted by the "phantom sack" and the inability to conquer the 49ers.

7. Jared Goff- (69 starts 42-27 .609) Goff came in 1st overall pick in 2016 and recovered from a terrible start to take the Rams to the Super Bowl LIII in the 2018 season. Goff may have lacked the killer instinct, but his .609 winning percentage and overall success put him at #7 on the list.

8. Vince Ferragamo- (44 starts 26-18 .591) Taking the Rams to the Superbowl is always going to raise your stature in the eyes of Rams fans. In 1979, Ferragamo took over as starter and took an improbably team (Probably the least-talented Rams team of the 1970's) and nearly beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIV. I only wish his time as starter was more consistent, and longer, and the Rams may have hoisted a Lombardi in the early Eighties.

9. Mark Bulger- (95 starts 41-54 .432 yeesh) Mad Mike Martz made a bad decision giving up on Kurt Warner when he battled a thumb injury in 2002. But he was onto something that wasn't too crazy. Mark Bulger was a very talented (and the best of the Brady 6) quarterback. Two-time Pro Bowler Bulger is ninth on this list.

10. James Harris- (27 starts 21-6 .778) With apologies to John Hadl (Not enough games -19 starts 15-4 .789) and Pat Haden (I just couldn't -55 starts 35-19) James Harris was one of the first black starting quarterbacks (I hate that label) when it truly was groundbreaking and came with a lot of pressure. He was a good leader, steady and deserves #10 on this list.

There you are gentlemen. One man's opinion. What is your top 10 quarterback list, circa 2025?

 

[fearsomefour]

What really amazes me is how the Rams have had some excellent QBs.....but, all with pretty short runs as a Rams QB.

 

[Ground Chuck]

What really amazes me is how the Rams have had some excellent QBs.....but, all with pretty short runs as a Rams QB.

Right? I would love to get the lowdown (I know a bit of the politics, but not the whole story) on why Rams brass couldn’t seal up Ferragamo and have a 8-10 year run at it.

And Sam Bradford. Now THAT guy was a stud.

 

[fearsomefour]

I cant really argue with your list.
A few "could have been" Ram greats.....

Sam Bradford, cannon arm and glass body

Ryan Fitzpatrick, only 3 starts as a Mike Martz project with zero wins, but, turned out to be fun to watch, probably a nightmare to coach....went on to a long, fun career

Tony Banks, had a huge arm, was athletic enough, could have developed into a guy potentially, but was held back by an apparent lack of ability to grow as a player and a very, very stupid head coach in Rich Brooks.

Nick Foles, naw.....I cant....never liked him

 

[fearsomefour]

Right? I would love to get the lowdown (I know a bit of the politics, but not the whole story) on why Rams brass couldn’t seal up Ferragamo and have a 8-10 year run at it.

And Sam Bradford. Now THAT guy was a stud.

I remember Vince as a little kid sort of.
James Harris only started 27 games for the Rams, winning 21. I never saw him play but that win percentage is nuts. I do have a Harris jersey however.
What was the deal with him not being kept long term?

 

[Ground Chuck]

I

I remember Vince as a little kid sort of.
James Harris only started 27 games for the Rams, winning 21. I never saw him play but that win percentage is nuts. I do have a Harris jersey however.
What was the deal with him not being kept long term?

I think “Shack” ended up with the Chargers for a couple years. Maybe getting Haden pushed him out the door?

 

[fearsomefour]

I

I think “Shack” ended up with the Chargers for a couple years. Maybe getting Haden pushed him out the door?

Makes sense.
With camp starting it makes think how different things used to be.
There was not constant scrutiny and updates regarding player moves, signings, cuts, injuries etc....fans were really isolated from teams in a lot of ways.
But not all.
In the early 90s I lived in San Diego.
I went to the Rams Chargers joint practice/scrimmage they would do every year. They held it in north San Diego.....I cant remember but I think it is where Scripps is now. May have been there then, Im not sure.
There were usually only about 50 or 70 fans there.
They had orange cones set up with tape strung between them as a line fans couldn't cross.
But you could just walk on the practice field and watch. Watching the OL/DL drills against one another from 10 yards away was so great.
I had a nice chat with Cleveland Gary one day.
The next, on a break, Chuck Knox came up and said he liked my hat.
It was the same one he was wearing.
I was a skinny heavy metal kid with hair down to my ribs.
We chatted for a min or two.
He was very friendly but Im sure it was a funny looking twosome talking.
Good times.

 

[Ground Chuck]

Love those stories

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

I

I think “Shack” ended up with the Chargers for a couple years. Maybe getting Haden pushed him out the door?

Harris was super talented and successful right away. Other owners expressed to Rosenbloom their unhappiness about Harris potentially opening the door for more Black QBs in the league when that wasn't acceptable at the time. Thus they moved on from Harris in favor of Haden.

That turned off some of the Black Ram fans at the time because the team had been so entrenched in Black Los Angeles due to the team breaking the color line, requiring integrated work forces to work on the Coliseum and having decades of very famous and popular Black players who were entrenched in the community

People felt like Harris had earned more of a chance to keep the job than he got, and were never really sold on Pat Haden.

Interestingly the folks who believed Haden held some really talented teams back in the 70s were somewhat vindicated when Vince Ferragamo came off the bench to lead tje 1979 team to the SuperBowl. With a QB who could stretch the field we were a different team

 

[PARAM]

One thing about Top 10 or 5 or 3 lists is, there's always something to debate. Another thing is, they're never really wrong. So I can say, "I like your list" and still have one of my own. But it's impossible to say if the guys I saw play QB were better or not, than the guys I didn't see. Having said that there's only 2 guys on that list I didn't see play. So I'd rank them this way.

1. Waterfield. The only Rams QB with 2 Championships
2. Warner. The only story that was better than fiction.
3. Stafford. What have you done for me lately and he's done more than any of them....lately
4. Van Brocklin. Still owns the record for passing yards in a game (552?)
5. Gabriel. Was a warrior and one of the reasons I became a Ram fan
6. Goff. Helped bring the franchise back to respectability after a long drought
7. Ferragamo. Brought the Rams to their first Superbowl and damn near won it.
8. Everett. Was the QB we needed, until we needed more
9. Bulger. Impossible act he followed.
10. Harris. My second favorite Rams QB at the time.

 

[Ground Chuck]

One thing about Top 10 or 5 or 3 lists is, there's always something to debate. Another thing is, they're never really wrong. So I can say, "I like your list" and still have one of my own. But it's impossible to say if the guys I saw play QB were better or not, than the guys I didn't see. Having said that there's only 2 guys on that list I didn't see play. So I'd rank them this way.

1. Waterfield. The only Rams QB with 2 Championships
2. Warner. The only story that was better than fiction.
3. Stafford. What have you done for me lately and he's done more than any of them....lately
4. Van Brocklin. Still owns the record for passing yards in a game (552?)
5. Gabriel. Was a warrior and one of the reasons I became a Ram fan
6. Goff. Helped bring the franchise back to respectability after a long drought
7. Ferragamo. Brought the Rams to their first Superbowl and damn near won it.
8. Everett. Was the QB we needed, until we needed more
9. Bulger. Impossible act he followed.
10. Harris. My second favorite Rams QB at the time.

Wow, Waterfield did have two titles, but (way before my time) wasn’t Van Brocklin the primary QB in ‘51 for the second one? I was shocked he only had 22 starts. I wonder what that looked like when he and NVB plattoned. (@VeteranRamFan ?)

 

[tempests]

4. Bob Waterfield- (Only 22 starts! 14-8 .636)

I think that's owing to Pro Football Reference only counting starts from 1950 onward, which leaves out his first five seasons.

And the funky way the Rams used to deploy their QBs. They would put Van Brocklin and Waterfield on the field on alternating series. My estimate from looking at game logs, Waterfield really made about 75 starts as a QB, and the Rams won about 2/3 of them.

 

[Ground Chuck]

I think that's owing to Pro Football Reference only counting starts from 1950 onward, which leaves out his first five seasons.

And the funky way the Rams used to deploy their QBs. They would put Van Brocklin and Waterfield on the field on alternating series. My estimate from looking at game logs, Waterfield really made about 75 starts as a QB, and the Rams won about 2/3 of them.

I figured some of that was true. Thanks for filling in the blanks! That makes a lot of sense.

 

[PARAM]

Wow, Waterfield did have two titles, but (way before my time) wasn’t Van Brocklin the primary QB in ‘51 for the second one? I was shocked he only had 22 starts. I wonder what that looked like when he and NVB plattoned. (@VeteranRamFan ?)

According to ProFootballReference, Waterfield had 10 starts in 1951, Van Brocklin 2. VB threw 194 passes, Waterfield 176. VB had 1725 yards 13 TD 11 Int, Waterfield 1566 yards, 13 TD 10 Int. Waterfield was credited with 7-3 record, VB 1-1.

 

[Ground Chuck]

That must have been something having two quarterbacks, it seems with nearly identical playing time, and stats. I’d be curious what guy I would have liked better.

 

[dieterbrock]

I only know of Harris thanks to youtube and just recently watched the Rams beat the Dolphins due to Harris throwing for 436 yards in an era that a 300 yard game was rare. So he was one of my favorites by far. Ahead of his time for sure
Solid list. Gabriel, Van Brocklin and Waterfield, I just have to take folks word for it.
In my lifetime, its:
1) Warner
2) Stafford
3) Everett
4) Ferragamo
5) Bulger
6) Goff

Notable intentional omissions:
Haden & Bradford

Would be really hard to come up with a 7-10 because nobody else was in these guys league

 

[Ground Chuck]

I only know of Harris thanks to youtube and just recently watched the Rams beat the Dolphins due to Harris throwing for 436 yards in an era that a 300 yard game was rare. So he was one of my favorites by far. Ahead of his time for sure
Solid list. Gabriel, Van Brocklin and Waterfield, I just have to take folks word for it.
In my lifetime, its:
1) Warner
2) Stafford
3) Everett
4) Ferragamo
5) Bulger
6) Goff

Notable intentional omissions:
Haden & Bradford

Would be really hard to come up with a 7-10 because nobody else was in these guys league

What, Not even a Dieter Brock reference?

 

[dieterbrock]

What, Not even a Dieter Brock reference?

First rookie to start an NFC Championship game!!

 

[fanotodd]

One more Waterfield tidbit:
I believe he is still the only QB to win an NFL title/SB as a Rookie.
He out dueled another rookie and future HOF in’45–Otto Graham.

 

[Allen2McVay]

According to ProFootballReference, Waterfield had 10 starts in 1951, Van Brocklin 2. VB threw 194 passes, Waterfield 176. VB had 1725 yards 13 TD 11 Int, Waterfield 1566 yards, 13 TD 10 Int. Waterfield was credited with 7-3 record, VB 1-1.

If a QB starts a game and his team goes-on to win, that QB gets credit for the win ... regardless of how much he played. It's dopey.

The immortal John Wolford came-out of the Rams/Seahawks 2020 Playoff Game in the first quarter but got credit for the win ... Dopey.