With only three games left in the 2022 season, the Los Angeles Rams are looking to see what players might stick around beyond this year.
Injuries ravaged the roster on both sides of the football, particularly on the offense as they’ve seen multiple key pieces like Matthew Stafford have their seasons cut short. Without Stafford available and uneven play from the backup tandem of John Wolford and Bryce Perkins, the Rams decided to claim Baker Mayfield off waivers.
Mayfield was cut by the Carolina Panthers but that could’ve been a blessing in disguise as he now gets to work with one of the brightest offensive minds in the game in head coach Sean McVay. Mayfield has only had a couple of weeks with his new coach, though he’s already seen just how detail-oriented he is via Skyler Carlin of USA Today:
“Just how detailed he is,” Mayfield said. “I mean, talking about, you know, even when a play looks good in practice, somehow fine tuning it afterwards to the ‘what if look.’ ‘What if we get this certain look, how do we want to teach the guy?’ I mean, it’s pretty special to watch how detailed he is and just getting to know him and how he wants to put guys in good positions, not to ask anybody to do something they’re not capable of and just making sure he’s putting guys in a great spot.”
The former No. 1 overall pick gave the Rams and their fans one of their best moments of the year when he led the team to a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback over the Las Vegas Raiders, just two days removed from signing with the organization. Week 16 was a different story as Mayfield largely struggled on the road against the Green Bay Packers, but it’s understandable given the conditions and the opponent.
Mayfield deserves a ton of credit for how he’s handled his first two weeks with L.A. and it stands to reason he’ll look better down the stretch as he and McVay workshop ways to get the offense moving. Three games isn’t a lot of time, but Mayfield is going to have to make the most of it if he wants to prove to the rest of the league that he’s still a starting-caliber quarterback. If not, he should at the very worst make a capable backup and even perhaps with the Rams if things shake out that way.
