Although the Los Angeles Rams came up short once again in their second preseason game, quarterback Bryce Perkins has secured himself the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.
Despite splitting snaps with Devlin Hodges in the preseason opener, the showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders saw Perkins remain under center the entire game. He showed plenty of promise by completing 26-of-39 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also rushing nine times for 41 yards.
Perkins almost put the cherry on top by nearly winning the game on a two-point conversion. Even if the Rams were unable to get the job done this time around, the coaching staff was pleased with what they saw.
Sean McVay praised Perkins for taking control of the offense and felt this was a major reason for him playing the whole game, via Gary Klein of the L.A. Times:
“I was really pleased with just his poise, his command and composure throughout the course of the game,” McVay said.
The “flow of the game” led to the decision to let Perkins take every snap, McVay said.
“We just kind of had a feel for it during the course of the game,” he said. “Wanted to give him that opportunity, and we’ll see what that looks like for next week.”
Perkins added that he did not expect to stay in until McVay made it clear:
Said Perkins: “It was kind of just drive by drive. He’d come up [and say] ‘You’re still going.’ I was just ready when he told me that. Just stay locked in throughout the game.”
The fact that Perkins warranted such playing time from McVay himself is certainly a positive sign for his status on the roster. While there is still one more game to play, the third-string job behind John Wolford and Matthew Stafford is his as the Rams decided to waive Hodges as a part of their first round of roster cuts.
Like Wolford, Perkins’ mobility in and out of the pocket helps to open up the field for more opportunities on offense. More importantly, he was able to establish a rhythm and make the right choices as the game went on, which McVay clearly had no intention of interrupting.
There is still plenty for the Rams to clean up after they were penalized 10 times for 84 yards versus the Raiders. Unfortunately, many players will not have the opportunity to make up for it since rosters will be trimmed down to 80 players by next week.
