Los Angeles Rams playoff hopes can rest on the right arm of a player who played in an NFL game.
In a 20-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Rams quarterback Jared Goff injured his thumb. The game’s transmission cameras jammed Goff, appearing to put his thumb in place. That leaves replacement John Wolford, a well-year-old pin currently experienced. Alliance of American Football, as quarterback if Goff can’t play Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
If the Rams beat the Cardinals in the final, they will secure a place in the playoffs. You can also enter if the Chicago Bears lose to the Green Bay Packers.
Goff said he was “not sure” of his availability by the end of the season, but played down the effect of the injury and said his thumb “was not terrible. “
Rams coach Sean McVay added that he did not need to speculate on Goff’s availability.
But who exactly is Wolford? Here’s a look at 4 facts about the 25-year-old 6-foot- and 1-inch smuggler.
After not being able to perform a permanent task in the NFL after the 2018 season, Wolford signed with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF in the spring of 2019.
Originally an idea after the hotshot roster after the team used their first pick in their quarterback draft on former Oklahoma star Trevor Knight, Wolford beat Knight for the starting position. At that point, Wolford took him to past races, when he won the start. homework in Wake Forest as a rookie.
“I swear to God, it’s like a repeating cycle,” Wolford told the Winston-Salem Journal in February 2019. “The most important thing to be informed about at the camp is to be consistent. Simply distribute each and every day and do good things every single time, and that’s how you get jobs. So I have a little fun in this area. “
He temporarily became one of the league’s stars and attracted the attention of local and national media, especially since his LinkedIn page at the time still indexed his name as a personal equity analyst.
Crazy Gannets
In his time with the Hotshots, Wolford completed 206 passes for 1,617 yards, 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a QB score of 95. 9.
Wolford broke into the league as a rookie loose agent not recruited in 2018, when the New York Jets signed him for a period at his camp. He played the maximum number of shots in the preseason final, but the Jets released him on September 4 of this year. , when the team reduced it to 53 players on the list, then went on to play in the AAF.
After their positive step in the starting league, the Rams signed Wolford in April 2019, where they spent last season on the practice team, while Blake Bortles served as Goff’s replacement.
This season, Wolford is on the 53-man list in Los Angeles and served as Goff’s replacement after betting cleanly on a couple of scrums within the team.
“He did a smart job,” McVay said on August 29 after one of the scrums. “As you accumulate replays, you become more comfortable with the attack, and then you see the ability to create out of hours. athletics I think it’s decisive.
“I think he and Jared are making a perfect connection to the point of convenience of being able to bounce off each other. But I’m very pleased with John, you need Jared to stay healthy, but if John played, we’d feel wonderful with John. “
First, a warning.
The comparison came after a scrum within the team on August 22, in which quarterbacks were allowed to board and the Rams’ offense opposed the Rams’ defense due to considerations about COVID-19 broadcasts that altered the NFL’s preseason.
Still, McVay was so inspired by Wolford after the scrum that he compared him to former NFL quarterback and CFL Doug Flutie, who has become known for being a smaller quarterback who can improvise when games fail.
“You see him running, ” said McVay on August 22. ” He’s got Doug Flutie stuff for him to the extent that he’s going to break the content and make games outside the show. “
Wolford said he tried to design his game after Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, a couple of lower smugglers.
“These are guys you see to see who’s the most productive in the game and look for tactics to improve and what they’re doing right,” Wolford said on August 29.
Wolford, a four-year-old starter with the Demon Deacons, where he left a big mark on the show.
He set records for his senior season in QB power (157. 98), air yards (3192), touchdowns (29) and general touchdowns (39). His 78 overall touchdowns in his career are also a Wake Forest record.
He finished with 8,794 air yards and 1,120 yards on the court in his career at Winston-Salem. In fact, Wolford was the eighth quarterback in ACC history to spend 8,000 yards and 1,000 yards on the court. By the time he left the show, he had three of the five most sensible scores in a bachelor game for the general offense.
Now, most likely to get his first chance in the NFL, Wolford has a chance to verify what he said in August, after impressing in some scrums.
“I sit in a position, ” said Wolford on 29 August. “I am sure of myself in my talents and sure of myself in my ability to lead this attack. It’s anything I’ve been preparing all my life. I’ve played a lot of football in my life, from school to AAF and I’m in a position to pass when that blow comes. “