Sean McVay has never been afraid to attempt a reclamation project at quarterback if the situation is right. During his time with the Rams, he’s brought in the likes of Blake Bortles, Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz, giving all three a shot in Los Angeles.
Bortles and Wentz were backups, while Mayfield immediately became the Rams’ starter in 2022 when Matthew Stafford was sidelined and the season was lost.
As soon as Daniel Jones was released by the Giants on Friday, fans and analysts wondered if the Rams might take a shot on the former first-round quarterback. That’s unlikely to happen, and here’s why.
It’s clear that Jones will clear waivers and become a free agent because of how bloated his contract is, so it’s not that the Rams can’t afford him. It has much more to do with their current roster situation.
At the moment, Los Angeles already has three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster: Stafford, Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett. The fact that the Rams kept Bennett on the active roster instead of waiving him when Garoppolo returned from his suspension shows they have no plans to cut him, even for a more proven player like Jones.
There’s no chance they’d keep four quarterbacks on the active roster so if they were to sign Jones, they’d have to cut either Garoppolo or Bennett. Cutting Garoppolo wouldn’t be wise because he’s spent the entire season learning Los Angeles’ offense and he’d be the best-equipped quarterback to step in if Stafford were to get hurt.
Had the Rams not been so deep at quarterback, McVay probably wouldn’t mind giving Jones a shot to back up Stafford, especially knowing they could get a compensatory pick if he were to leave in free agency next year.
They just don’t have the roster space to make it work.
If next spring, Garoppolo moves on and the Rams don’t have faith in Bennett, then maybe they could bring in Jones. But at this moment in time, it’s hard to imagine that happening.
