While the Los Angeles Rams dropped their preseason opener to the L.A. Chargers, 13-6, there were still some positives to take away.
One of them was the play of Bryce Perkins, who the Rams originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia last year.
Even though the Rams only scored six points on the night, Perkins showed off his athleticism on multiple occasions, completing 7-of-10 passes for 42 yards and a touchdown while also rushing the ball four times for 23 yards.
The biggest highlight of the night came courtesy of Perkins when he took off running to his right on a third-down play in the forth quarter and hurdled a defender to get the first down:
Bryce Perkins with the hurdle 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/AlOUd391fq
— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) August 15, 2021
Perkins discussed the play after the game and said he could feel the energy in SoFi Stadium after completing the highlight of the night, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I definitely felt it,” Perkins said postgame, when asked if he could feel his teammates energy when he made the hurdle. “And usually, I always tell my parents this, growing up (in) high school and Pop Warner, when they’re closer, they always say they’re yelling at me, ‘Can you hear me? Can you hear me?’ And I always say ‘No, when I’m on the field usually I can’t hear anything.’ But after that play I heard it. It seemed like I heard everybody, everything, saw everybody. But it was awesome. It was a great energy boost and I’m glad that I could make that play for the team.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay was not only impressed with the hurdle but Perkins’ night overall”
“I thought he did a nice job,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I was real pleased with him. You could see he had a couple of great off-schedule plays tonight. That third-down and nine, that’s definitely on SportsCenter tonight. It was exciting to be able to see. I thought the overall operation, getting in and out of the huddle, communicating some of the play call, sending the motions, mixing up your cadence. It’s definitely a good positive night for (QB) Bryce (Perkins).”
As things currently stand, the Rams already have their top two quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford and John Wolford. Neither is expected to play in the preseason though, which should give Perkins and Devlin Hodges plenty of opportunities to battle for the No. 3 quarterback spot.
Perkins brings something to the table that Hodges doesn’t with his running ability, so he is probably the favorite to stick around long-term.
