One of the things the Los Angeles Rams front office wanted to do this offseason was to find a solid, reliable backup for quarterback Matthew Stafford. And Sean McVay and his staff had their eyes on an ideal player for that role in former Washington Commanders starter Sam Howell.
Howell turned some heads in his time in Washington. While he certainly had some ups and downs, throwing for 21 touchdowns, but also throwing 21 interceptions, he showed that he is an NFL caliber quarterback who simply needs a bit of fine tuning.
But the Rams were unable to trade for Howell as Washington sent him to the division rival Seattle Seahawks and NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that it was simply a matter of the Seahawks outbidding the Rams on a trade, via Puck Sports:
.@MikeGarafolo with a good nugget on the trade for Sam Howell and who the @Seahawks were competing with for his services. https://t.co/ckDTqrHAyB pic.twitter.com/P3FYnlKiag
— Puck (@Puck2040) April 4, 2024
Howell was traded by Washington, along with a fourth and sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, to Seattle for a third and fifth-round pick. While the Rams have always been aggressive in being willing to give up whatever it takes to get the players they want, going too big for a backup quarterback simply didn’t make sense.
There is no doubt that Howell would have been an ideal addition so it makes sense why the Rams had interest. At 23 years old, Howell is younger than some of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft so there is still plenty of room for improvement and development. And there is no better way to improve than to play under Sean McVay.
Howell could have been a trusted backup with starting experience who could possibly develop into a starter once Matthew Stafford’s playing days were done. But instead Seattle was willing to go a little deeper to land him and the Rams had to turn elsewhere for their backup quarterback.
Rams sign former 49ers and Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
Where the Rams would turn is to a more established veteran in Jimmy Garoppolo, who the team signed to a one-year deal. Garoppolo will be suspended for the first two games of the season after violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Drugs policy, but both sides are excited about the partnership.
Garoppolo noted that he had multiple options in his free agency process, but he appreciated the professionalism of the Rams franchise. He also added that once he was able to talk with McVay and pick his brain, it became an easy choice.
