With more clarity on Matthew Stafford’s thumb, Rams still face backup QB questions

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Rams now have more clarity about quarterback Matthew Stafford’s right thumb, but as a situation initially feared to be worse got less cloudy by the day, the scrutiny of the team’s maligned backup quarterbacks room increased.

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Stafford is dealing with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right thumb, suffered in a disastrous loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. Early Monday morning, as Stafford underwent further medical testing, the Rams braced for a range of outcomes while not yet ruling out injured reserve, a league source with direct knowledge of the injury said at that time.

Yet by Monday afternoon, Rams coach Sean McVay said Stafford is considered “day to day” and suggested the injury was less significant than initially feared.

“There’s so much swelling when you look at it, but we were encouraged that it was a sprain,” McVay said Monday afternoon. “I think there were some potential concerns that it could be worse and might’ve even been some scar tissue from the previous thing where you’re kind of breaking it up from that previous surgery that he had. So hopefully it was just a good scare.”

By Wednesday, McVay could even definitively say that injured reserve won’t be an option for Stafford — and didn’t rule him out for Sunday’s game in Green Bay, although the team will continue to monitor factors such as swelling, ability to grip the football and the chillier climate. McVay also said the team is not concerned that the injury could regress. Some in the organization believe that Stafford will try to return as soon as possible, but the aforementioned factors could certainly play into his ultimate availability.

If Stafford does not play Sunday, the Rams’ backup is Brett Rypien, who finished Sunday’s game in Dallas. Rypien, who spoke to media in the more formal lectern setting on Wednesday, in the time slot usually occupied by Stafford, said he has “no idea” when a starter will be named this week, but that he is “going to prepare like (he is) the starter either way.”

“That’s what you do all the time, but especially when a guy is dealing with an injury and he is not practicing, it definitely heightens that level of awareness and you’re getting ready to go,” Rypien said.

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The Rams also signed Dresser Winn to the practice squad Wednesday. Winn was with the team in training camp and so knows at least the foundation points of the offense. The Rams initially tried to sign former backup John Wolford off of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad (that means he would have had to be on the active roster for at least three games), but before they could do so, the Bucs promoted Wolford to their own active roster, league and team sources said.

Attempting to sign Wolford, then ultimately bringing back Winn, points to multiple things: that the Rams may not be overly concerned about Stafford’s longer-term status, that they don’t want a reserve quarterback without familiarity with their offensive system, and that the coaches did not think much about the overall ability of other available quarterbacks (including relative to potential cost).

Despite Stafford’s injury history, the Rams have only carried two quarterbacks through most of the regular season. When additional practice arms were needed, assistant coaches (and former quarterbacks) Zac Robinson and K.J. Black even stepped in at times to help. McVay said Monday that prior to Stafford’s injury, the team had discussed adding another reserve quarterback.

The Rams faced fluctuation at their backup position in 2022, after Stafford suffered a concussion, and then a season-ending spinal cord contusion. The Rams started Wolford and third-string quarterback Bryce Perkins, before eventually picking up Baker Mayfield off of waivers. They planned to re-invest in and develop that position via the draft this spring — the most cost-effective option for a cash-strapped front office — and selected Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett in the fourth round specifically to be their long-term backup, team and league sources said at the time, not their future starter. It was a position they desperately needed to solidify, even with the expectation at the time that Stafford would return for a healthy 2023. The Rams had honed in on Bennett as the prospect they wanted — their understanding of a January misdemeanor public intoxication arrest and his subsequent remorse/handling of that were not deterrents — among a deep class of potential backups with the idea that he could run a competitive scout team for their defense and bring gamer qualities and sound decision-making to an emergency fill-in situation if necessary. Plus, they genuinely liked Bennett, the person, as a prospect.

But on Sept. 13, the Rams designated Bennett to the non-football/illness reserve list, and he has remained away from the facility since that time.

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“There are certain things that I think are a little bit bigger and more important (than football),” McVay said at the time of Bennett’s designation, “and out of respect for the particulars in the specifics, we want to be able to keep it in-house.”

Bennett took the majority of the second-team snaps in the preseason, though split them pretty evenly with Rypien in training camp. For Bennett and the Rams, who have little proven history of developing a rookie quarterback under this staff, the learning curve to the NFL and to Los Angeles after six years at the University of Georgia was steep. His play fluctuated in training camp and into the preseason, though Bennett sometimes spent extra time with coaches and some teammates in the early mornings before the work day began. Assistants called Bennett “coachable.” He told The Athletic on Aug. 28, “I’m coachable because I don’t know (this league). Like, if you tell me what to do, I can do it. That’s always been my … I can adapt. I can do it. But I don’t know this league. I need your help, and they have been great here.

“I’ve had some conversations with them, because they are used to coaching pros. I like to be coached. Like, if something is wrong, tell me. Get on me. I’ll fix it, because I want to. Yell at me. Tell me to do better, because I’ve got to do better for the team. As we’re going, (we are) feeling people out. (But) I told them, ‘Don’t worry about any of that stuff. Don’t worry about that. I just want to be the best football player I can be, whatever it takes.’ ”

McVay has declined on multiple occasions to discuss the specifics of the matter. One league source said, at the time of Bennett’s designation to the non-football/illness list, that the organization was trying to be “supportive” of him. Other team sources have expressed empathy toward Bennett, while not expanding on the specifics of the situation (some said they were not aware of those specifics, either). McVay has indicated at various times over the last month that he has stayed in contact with Bennett, saying on Sept. 23 that he “got a chance to hear his voice and he sounds really good,” and adding Monday that Bennett is “doing well.”

McVay also said Monday that Bennett is “less likely than he is likely” to return to the Rams this season. There is hope among some in the organization, but not certainty, that Bennett eventually returns to the team.

A player’s personal matter aside, the Rams have demonstrated an inconsistent approach to how they fill their backup quarterback position, other than that the player must be cost-efficient. Meanwhile, Stafford (who has played very well this year despite dealing with management of a hip contusion), has yet to make it through a full season in Los Angeles without injury concerns — even during the 2021 Super Bowl-winning season, reports surfaced about elbow pain but Stafford played through any ailment.

“I think you want to use every opportunity as a learning experience and some situations create a little bit more urgency based on unforeseen things that could come down the (pike),” said McVay, when asked Wednesday about the Rams’ process for evaluating and selecting backup quarterbacks. “I think what you’re always trying to do is have a plan but more importantly, plan for the unexpected. I remember Terry Hoeppner, my former head coach (in college) used to say, ‘Have a plan, you work the plan, but you’ve got to plan for the unexpected.’ Sometimes these situations arise.

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“There’s no excuses, but we’ve got to do a better job.”

Knows Ball Anonymous

(This column replaces the usual Thursday “Three Rams Things” column, in which this section is included — but this week KBA is too good not to include anyway. Running back Darrell Henderson was signed to the practice squad Oct. 17, started five days later and this week was signed to the 53-man roster.)

“Before signing back with the team in October, Darrell was staying in shape in part by dominating a recreational beach flag football league in Santa Monica. Seems like he played quarterback on offense and some safety on defense, but could have played anywhere, and was always the best player on the field by a wide, wide margin … they played one team six-on-eight and still won. Rest of the team was full of “normal” people with very casual football experience so though they’re happy he got another opportunity, sounds like they’d like him back!” — Knower of Ball 

GO DEEPER

Rodrigue: Bleak day for Rams leads to bigger questions about short and long term

(Top photo of Matthew Stafford: Ron Jenkins /Getty Images)

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