Rams Coach Sean McVay Reveals Preseason Quarterback Rotation

Bryce Perkins saw all of the action in the opener, but did he do enough to get the starting job for preseason Week 2?

The Los Angeles Rams have a quarterback dilemma.

Fortunately for the reigning Super Bowl champions, it's the exact issue they'd prefer to have: two capable quarterbacks in contention to start a preseason game and position themselves to be Matthew Stafford's backup.

Third-year pro Bryce Perkins played the entirety of the Rams' 29-22 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the preseason opener, completing 10 of 17 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Perkins was also the team's leading rusher, taking eight carries for 39 yards and a score.

With Perkins riding a big wave of momentum, will he get the start against the Houston Texans on Friday? Rams coach Sean McVay provided the answer after practice Wednesday.

“No, John Wolford is going to play the first half and Bryce will play second half," McVay declared. "It'll be good to get John some experience.”

The Rams kept Wolford out of the game against the Chargers likely as a precaution, as he's the heavy favorite to be Stafford's backup. Wolford has seen most of the snaps with the starters during training camp on the days that Stafford hasn't participated.

The inspiration to play Wolford just one week after holding him out actually stems from Perkins' success, according to McVay. Watching Perkins perform reminded McVay of Wolford's past preseason success and led to a newfound emphasis on getting the 26-year-old game reps.

"I think these are valuable experience opportunities for a player like John, who we have a ton of confidence in, but he hasn't played a whole lot," McVay said. "He played against Arizona and he played a quarter against Seattle (in 2020), and those real game experiences. You can't really substitute where you're able to get tackled, get out there and play with some of the other guys and operate."

Stafford has battled an elbow injury throughout much of the offseason, something the Rams are hopeful won't become a factor during the season. However, if it does, Los Angeles needs Wolford to be as sharp as possible, another motivation for getting him playing time in the preseason.

"If (Wolford) did have to do something, we feel like this would be the best opportunity for John to get in there, get into a rhythm and routine," said McVay. "It was really something that kind of just thinking about what's the best way to set up John for the most success. We felt like him playing this week would be that.”

Los Angeles has a pair of players they feel comfortable with operating the offense should Stafford go down. While that's obviously not something the Rams want to endure, having organizational depth is a key reason why they won the Super Bowl last season.

That depth will be on full display Friday night as the Rams host the Texans, with kickoff scheduled for 7 PM Pacific.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter at @DFlickDraft

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