COLUMN: Why Rams Should Invest In Young Backup QB

With Matthew Stafford's years number in the league, developing a young backup would be a intriguing connection.

Sep 13, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay talks with quarterback Jared Goff (16) in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium. The Rams defeated the Cowoboys 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams are entering free agency with hopes of translating their recent success into a possible Super Bowl berth next season.

They're a team with a young defense and enough offensive pieces to make some noise in the NFC. It helps that there is a giant weight off the team's shoulders after being able to restructure the contract of franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford, a key cog in the team's plans for 2025.

Los Angeles will be a possible favorite destination for plenty of young free agents when the league year begins next week. After taking the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles to the wire in the playoffs, the Rams have a great amount of confidence in their abilities and their willingness to draft and develop talent into quality and impact starters on either side of the ball.

However, Stafford was close to leaving the franchise for greener pastures, potentially in the next state over with the Las Vegas Raiders or on the east coast with the New York Giants. Had that been the case, the Rams may have been a team in play to a potential trade up for a quarterback if someone like Shedeur Sanders fell.

Thankfully, this wasn't the case but it has some pondering whether general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay are ready to draft a young backup quarterback to be mentored by Stafford. This is the time, more than ever, to go in this direction.

Following the NFC Championship, a question was raised as to whether McVay is ready to develop a young quarterback after how things went with former signal-caller Jared Goff from 2017-2020.

This would be a different situation where McVay is not pressured to start a young quarterback in the short-term and allow them to grow and develop on the bench instead of constant learning and tutoring from the sideline to the quarterback early in the pre-snap.

In this instance, this year offers a quarterback class with more developmental talent than potential early starters.

Riley Leonard is a popular name out of Notre Dame who offers some quality tangibles but never seemed to put it together at Duke and during the Fighting Irish's runner-up in the National Championship. A player like Leonard would be a perfect developmental quarterback prospect that would fit perfectly with McVay with no stress of having to start anytime soon.

Hypothetically, there is always the chance this could eventually lead the young quarterback to transition into a starting role if and when Stafford retires, which doesn't seem to be the case anytime in the near-future. If it doesn't work out, the Rams could be a team that is aggressive for a potential signal-caller on the open or trade market, or for a top prospect in the NFL Draft in the coming years.

Every team, including the Rams should attempt to invest in a young backup QB. You never know whether you end up with the next Brock Purdy-like story or not.

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