Some teams prioritize the backup quarterback position more than others. Under Sean McVay, it’s never been a spot the Rams sink many assets into.
Since 2017, they’ve had Sean Mannion, Blake Bortles, John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and now Brett Rypien as their backups. We can’t loop Baker Mayfield into that group because the Rams only acquired him when Matthew Stafford got hurt, not beforehand.
The most proactive Los Angeles has been in finding a backup quarterback is selecting Stetson Bennett in the fourth round this year. Bennett has been on the non-football illness list since the beginning of the season and McVay said he’s unlikely to return this season.
After seeing Rypien play a sloppy game against the Packers on Sunday, it’s clear the Rams still haven’t found a legitimate backup behind Stafford. In the 20-3 loss, Rypien completed 13 of 28 passes for 130 yards with a lost fumble and an interception. Of those 13 completions, only three were at least 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and eight of them were to the left side within 7 yards of the LOS.
Tutu Atwell dropped what would’ve been a big gain, and Tyler Higbee also dropped a pass, but Rypien was a big reason the Rams lost this game.
Obviously, the Rams haven’t been a good team all season, coming into the week at 3-5 with a bottom-half offense and defense, but they might find a way to beat the Packers with above-average quarterback play. They certainly would’ve had a great chance with Stafford under center.
While we can’t blame the Rams for Bennett’s likely season-long absence. We don’t know what’s going on with the quarterback, but it’s obviously not football-related. However, the Rams chose not to bring in a proven veteran who could push him for the No. 2 spot. Rypien didn’t exactly do that this summer, and Dresser Winn was never in the mix to make the 53-man roster.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals (and Vikings) got decent play out of Josh Dobbs, the Colts have been winning with Gardner Minshew, P.J. Walker led the Browns to two wins and even Tyson Bagent – an undrafted rookie – has shown some promise. Just about every backup that’s gotten into a game this season has been better than what the Rams have seen from their backups, be it in the preseason or in Rypien’s spot duty.
They have to hope Bennett turns into at least a serviceable backup. With Stafford’s injury history and the fact that he’s approaching retirement, the Rams need to have someone who can not just fill in when needed, but potentially take the reins when Stafford does retire.
It’s not always easy to find a good quarterback in the draft, but Los Angeles hasn’t wanted to bring in an experienced veteran since signing Blake Bortles in 2020. That, we can blame McVay and the front office for. And the result has been some poor performances when the backups are called upon.
