Quarterback Carson Wentz is coming to the Los Angeles Rams, a source familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press.
Wentz needed to pass a physical before the agreement could be made official, so the person only talked to the AP on Tuesday under the condition of anonymity. This is Los Angeles’s bye week.
After starting seven games for the Washington Commanders in the previous season, Wentz has not played in the NFL this year. The seven-year NFL veteran started all 17 games for Indianapolis in 2021 after starting for Philadelphia for five years.
The Rams (3-6) are in need of a backup quarterback to replace Matthew Stafford, who was sidelined by a sprained thumb ligament during Los Angeles’ miserable defeat to wet Green Bay last weekend. The Rams are 8-18 since winning the Super Bowl and are currently on a three-game losing streak.
The only other quarterback for the Rams before Stafford went down was backup Brett Rypien, who struggled to a 13-of-28 performance with two fumbles and an interception in Los Angeles’ 20-3 loss.
The Rams had to dismiss Rypien on Tuesday to make room for him on the practice squad once more.
The Rams signed Wentz as insurance in case Stafford’s injury gets worse or he gets another one, even though coach Sean McVay voiced hope on Monday that Stafford will play in their next game against Seattle on November 19.
With only Stafford and Rypien as quarterbacks on the roster, Los Angeles tried to survive the season. Stetson Bennett was selected by the Rams in the fourth round of the draft last spring, but for unknown reasons, the two-time national champion from Georgia has not been a member of the team since the preseason.
Due to a strained spinal cord, Stafford missed the second part of the previous season, and the Rams had trouble using backups John Wolford and Bryce Perkins. After that, Los Angeles signed Baker Mayfield, who two days after signing, guided the Rams to a victory over Las Vegas and finally revived his career to earn a new contract to start for Tampa Bay this season.
After carefully assessing both quarterbacks, Jared Goff was selected by Rams general manager Les Snead ahead of Wentz as the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Following his successful season leading the Rams to the Super Bowl, Goff was moved to Detroit as part of the deal for Stafford, who had won the Super Bowl in his first year with Los Angeles.
Throughout his NFL career, Wentz has passed for 22,129 yards and 151 touchdowns. Before suffering a season-ending knee injury during a game against the Rams, he was having a fantastic season with the Eagles in 2017. Nick Foles went on to lead Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory in his place.
Despite the high expectations and numerous lost opportunities during his career, Wentz has produced decent numbers for each team he has played for. For the Eagles in 2019, he passed for a career-high 4,039 yards; however, in 2020, Jalen Hurts took over as the starting quarterback.
In 2021, Wentz continued to play well for the Colts, throwing for 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. Then, in March 2022, Washington acquired Wentz for a second- and a third-round selection. However, Wentz was never a regular player prior to breaking his ring finger in October and losing his starting position to Taylor Heinecke when he joined the Commanders.
With two years remaining on his deal, Washington released the 30-year-old Wentz in February of last year, and he remained unsigned during the offseason.
On Tuesday, the Rams also released quarterback Dresser Winn from the practice squad and waived defensive tackle Cory Durden and running back Myles Gaskin. Following Stafford’s injury last week, the team re-signed Winn.