John Wolford made his third start of the season on Thursday night when the Rams hosted the Raiders. He did so despite being listed as questionable to play with a neck injury.
However, it was one of the shortest starts you’ll ever see for a quarterback who didn’t suffer a reported injury. On the opening drive, Wolford handed the ball off twice to Cam Akers, then again to Tutu Atwell. The Rams punted, going three-and-out on the opening series.
The next time the offense came out, Wolford was standing on the sideline and Baker Mayfield was at quarterback. It’s not surprising that Sean McVay wanted to play his shiny new quarterback, but the way he handled the “rotation” was bizarre and had everyone on Twitter confused.
Why even start Wolford lmao
— Arif Hasan, hates turkey 🙅♂️🦃 (@ArifHasanNFL) December 9, 2022
Why did John Wolford start?
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) December 9, 2022
i might've missed it but why did wolford start the first series
— Danny Kelly (@DannyBKelly) December 9, 2022
lol wait why did we start Wolford, run the ball three times and then bench him. Was that his fault?????
— Steve Rebeiro (@steverebeiro) December 9, 2022
Why even bother to start Wolford?
— Zach Brunner (@FantasyFlurry) December 9, 2022
John Wolford after busting his ass so he could start tonight and then hand the ball off three times to start the game pic.twitter.com/OYBhRMFm9R
— Stephen Douglas (Parody of Stephen Douglas) (@Stephen_Douglas) December 9, 2022
So what exactly was the point of starting Wolford?
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) December 9, 2022
Was it perhaps because Wolford has incentives built into his contract for the number of starts he makes? Highly unlikely considering he’s playing on a one-year, exclusive rights free agent tender.
One thought on why the Rams started John Wolford at quarterback and replaced him after 3 plays. Maybe it was McVay throwing him a bone because he has a contract clause that pays him “X”amount per start? 🤷♂️
— Randy Mueller (@RandyMueller_) December 9, 2022
