The Los Angeles Rams claimed quarterback Baker Mayfield off waivers on Tuesday. Now they’re saying that he might just be in uniform and ready to play on Thursday night.
The Rams shocked a lot of people around the NFL by picking up Mayfield after the Carolina Panthers cut him last week. However, in spite of his struggles, the former No. 1 overall pick provides some experience in the quarterback room for LA, who recently placed starting QB Matthew Stafford on the IR and will lose him for the rest of the season. While third-year quarterback John Wolford was named the new starter, he’s questionable with a neck injury and former Virginia QB Bryce Perkins was the only healthy QB available until Mayfield was picked up.
While it seems crazy that Mayfield could potentially play two days after the Rams signed him, head coach Sean McVay said the Rams are “working through” the quarterback’s status for their Thursday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I’ll lean toward him being active,” said McVay said, who acknowledged that it would be “unprecedented” for a quarterback to be ready to play so quickly.
Sean McVay says Baker Mayfield is "a really sharp, smart, cerebral player that has a great competitiveness to him that you can't help but like."
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) December 7, 2022
“He’s a really sharp, smart, cerebral player that has a great competitiveness to him that you can’t help but like,” McVay said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
Whether he suits up or not, it’s clear that McVay is a big fan of what Baker can bring to the Rams as they try to salvage their post-Super Bowl season.
Sean McVay on adding Baker Mayfield: "When you have a player of his caliber become available and you look at just the circumstances and the situation surrounding our quarterback room, we felt like it was the right move for us. I've always respected his game." #Rams
— Gilberto Manzano (@GManzano24) December 7, 2022
“When you have a player of his caliber become available and you look at just the circumstances and the situation surrounding our quarterback room, we felt like it was the right move for us,” McVay said, via Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register. “I’ve always respected his game.”
[PFT]
