The Los Angeles Rams’ season seemed to go completely off the rails in Week 9 when Matthew Stafford was sidelined by a thumb injury, thrusting Brett Rypien into the starting lineup against the Green Bay Packers. The Rams lost that game, 20-3, gaining only 187 total yards of offense with two turnovers and just 10 first downs.
Fortunately, they turned things around after their Week 10 bye, but that loss to the Packers left a sour taste in the Rams’ mouth – even to this day. General manager Les Snead spoke to reporters this week and made it very clear that the Rams will do what it takes to avoid another disaster like the one they witnessed in Green Bay.
With more cap space available, they can afford to sign a veteran to back up Stafford after going the cheap route with Rypien last year.
“What we do want to accomplish this year is making sure we have … if we ever have to go play a game without Matthew in the lineup, we want to be able to win it,” Snead said. “And I think this year, different than last year based on salary cap, could allow us to maybe do a veteran QB. The flexibility with the cap does allow us to do that where last year, we thought, you know what, let’s try to be the most competitive team with our starting 22, but it did come back to hurt us definitely (in) one game last year.”
One simple option is to simply re-sign Carson Wentz, who led the Rams to a win over the 49ers in the season finale. He made some impressive throws and his mobility was a real asset, rushing for 56 yards and a touchdown in the 21-20 win over San Francisco. They could also spend a bit more to get someone like Gardner Minshew, Jacoby Brissett or Sam Darnold.
Either way, the Rams know they can’t have an unproven player like Rypien being one snap away from starting a game next season because that loss to Green Bay very easily could’ve cost them a playoff spot.
