For a couple of minutes on Monday night, it appeared that veteran quarterback John Wolford would be returning to the Los Angeles Rams. The Wake Forest product spent the 2020-22 seasons out in California with Sean McVay’s team, so it seemed like a natural reunion, as starter Matthew Stafford deals with a UCL injury to his thumb.
However, not even 10 minutes later, Wolford decided that he would rather stay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he was already currently on the team’s practice squad. On Tuesday, the Bucs announced that the 28-year-old Wolford had been signed to the team’s active roster.
We've signed QB John Wolford to the active roster & waived DL Patrick O'Connor.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 31, 2023
Wolford turned down interest from the Rams and Minnesota Vikings — two places where he’d have a chance to start — to stick around in Tampa Bay and backup both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.
Wolford was one of the best players in the short-lived Alliance of American Football, throwing for 1,617 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns in eight games with the Arizona Hotshots before the league folded. NFL teams noticed Wolford’s performance, and he landed on the Rams’ practice squad for the 2019 season.
In 2020, Wolford found himself in an unexpected starting role when Jared Goff was injured. He started the Rams’ Week 17 game against the Arizona Cardinals and led them to an 18-7 victory, clinching a playoff spot. Wolford started the Wild Card Game against the Seattle Seahawks but was injured in the first quarter.
When the Rams acquired Stafford, Wolford became the backup quarterback and played sparingly in 2021 and 2022. He was part of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship team.
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About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.