LOS ANGELES_Max Browne was surprised. Sam Darnold was caught off guard.
Clay Helton informed his quarterbacks Sunday evening that he was switching starters, from Browne to Darnold. He informed the rest of the team in their first team meeting on Monday.
The reaction?
"It was pretty steady," linebacker Michael Hutchings said. "It wasn't any ups, any downs."
A team accustomed to drama has responded to the change at quarterback with stoicism. On Tuesday, players generally declined to offer an opinion on the switch.
It was, they said, just reality.
"It is what it is, I guess," linebacker Porter Gustin said. "We just weren't executing and winning ball games, so when that happens, you have to make a change and see how it goes."
Hutchings said that the team would "trust the coaches' decisions. And whoever's in there, we want to fully back them. That's the attitude we have about it. Whatever it takes for us to win."
That decision, Helton said, came because of Darnold's mobility, arm strength and ability to read the defense, which he hopes can provide a spark.
Cornerback Adoree' Jackson said he's intrigued by Darnold's potential.
"I'm just ready to get out there and see what he brings to the table," Jackson said. "I know he can bring a lot of things."
Helton also responded Tuesday to his comments in training camp, when he vowed that the starter would get "multiple games" to prove his worth. He said at the time he didn't want the starter "looking over his back all the time," though he did add that the backup could play in some packages, such as in the red zone.
In the first three games, while Browne started, Darnold played significant minutes. Darnold played in red-zone situations but also played complete drives as early as the third quarter in the opener against Alabama.
On Tuesday, Helton said he felt as though Browne received a fair evaluation period.
"I think in the reality of football when you go three games and you're the starting quarterback, and honorable as he competed, the fact of the matter is we just didn't get the ball in the end zone," Helton said.
Helton denied that Browne had won the starting job in training camp because there were fears he would transfer.
"I deal with who was playing the best at the time," Helton said. "And we know how close that competition was at the time. I went with the older kid."
