As cutdown day approaches, Rams may look to upgrade the backup QB positions

The Los Angeles Rams cut ties with all three of their backup quarterbacks from a year ago: Baker Mayfield and John Wolford are now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Wolford suffered a neck injury this past weekend during a preseason game, so wishing him the best), Bryce Perkins is unemployed in the NFL as far as I can tell—though he was invited to minicamp by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It’s hard to do worse than Wolford and Perkins. Both looked inept while filling in for Matthew Stafford over the second half of last season.

The Rams drafted Stetson Bennett out of Georgia in the fourth round this spring to be their primary backup to Stafford in 2023. His play has been up-and-down in the preseason so far, but you certainly see glimpses of why the team felt compelled to select the young QB. Bennett started the second preseason game versus the Oakland Raiders while Brett Rypien started the first game against the Los Angeles Chargers—this may signal a change atop the depth chart, though the team has not confirmed that Bennett is truly second string.

While Bennett has showed flashes over the preseason, Rypien hasn’t been all that impressive. The Rams offensive line has struggled in pass protection—particularly Logan Bruss at RT—and Rypien doesn’t possess the same athleticism as Bennett and can look like a statue in the pocket.

The appeal of Rypien is that he’s played in Sean McVay-adjacent offensive schemes over his veteran NFL career, but Los Angeles may be best served to find someone who can make more of an impact on the field. What are their options for veteran third quarterbacks if they decide to move on from Rypien and possibly make a move after roster cutdowns?

Why a reunion with Brandon Allen makes a lot of sense:

Allen started his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 as a backup to Blake Bortles. He then moved to Los Angeles and spent two years with the Rams before joining the Denver Broncos in 2019. Allen has been the primary backup to Joe Burrow with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2020, and when Burrow suffered an ACL tear during his rookie season Allen replaced him in the starting lineup. He joined the San Francisco 49ers this offseason and is now slotted fourth on the depth chart behind Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, and Trey Lance.

It’s more likely than not that Allen will be released at the cutdown deadlines by San Francisco, and his experience with the Rams and in similar offenses like Zac Taylor’s in Cincinnati should make him a sound reserve option.

The Rams might have competition; however, as Joe Burrow is still nursing a calf injury and the Bengals backups haven’t looked overly competent in the preseason. It may take a waiver claim—in which LA has much higher priority—to reunite with Allen.