Carson Wentz Says Sean McVay Reason For Signing, Los Angeles Rams 'Just Felt Right'

The Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay were able to convince Carson Wentz to sign before Week 11's contest vs. the Seattle Seahawks. What drove Wentz's decision?

Credit where it’s due: the Los Angeles Rams realized they had a backup quarterback problem and worked to address it.

Drafting Stetson Bennett and signing Brett Rypien was supposed to give Los Angeles options in the event of an injury to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. With Bennett out of the picture and Rypien falling far short of expectations against the Green Bay Packers (a game the Rams lost 20-3), a move was necessary.

In turn, Los Angeles pivoted to journeyman quarterback Carson Wentz. The former second-overall pick is best known for his incredible performance during the 2017 season, where he led the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles to an 11-2 record before tearing his knee and missing the rest of the season.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and backup quarterback Carson Wentz / ClutchPoints

Since then, he’s fallen out of favor with Philadelphia and found himself starting for the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders. Neither went well and, up until November, he was a free agent.

Wentz, having already secured a massive $128 million extension with the Eagles, didn’t have to put the pads back on. However, going unsigned this season likely would have shut the door on his NFL career. If there was a time to take a call, it was now, especially when Rams head coach Sean McVay is on the other line.

“Always had a lot of respect for Coach McVay and how he’s done things from afar without personally knowing him,” Wentz said. “Just knowing how he is as a coach and everything, and I felt like the pieces were in a good place.”

Wentz was keenly aware of the sand in the hourglass of his professional career. Stafford, who suffered a thumb injury in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, made the need for a backup that much more pressing. The Week 10 bye has alleviated concerns about Stafford’s availability moving forward, but Wentz was still happy to help in any capacity possible.

“Time was ticking at some point, too,” Wentz said. “It’s been weird waiting and seeing the landscape of everything, but when I had the chance to come here, it just felt right.”

Wentz went 2-5 with Washington last season, throwing for 1,755 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. While Washington was McVay’s old stomping grounds, that mediocre production came from an entirely different offense than what he’s had to learn in this last week.

“The hardest part is just learning the playbook as quickly as humanly possible,” Wentz said. “I’ve been in weird situations the last couple of years … Never in-season like this, so sometimes I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose at times.”

Carson Wentz 'Thankful' For Rams Opportunity

With the help of McVay, Stafford, and the rest of the offensive staff, Wentz hopes to soak up as much of McVay’s offense as possible. Like any backup, he’ll be preparing for a situation Los Angeles hopes never comes around.

However, if Stafford isn’t ready to go on Sunday, or goes down with another injury, it’ll be on Wentz to step up and salvage both the Rams’ season and his own career.