DONE DEAL AND GOOD TRADE: Rams have announced the of signing 30 years old QB from Washington Commanders as Matthew Stafford insurance

(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles Rams have signed quarterback Carson Wentz, according to a source close to the situation.

The source spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press on Tuesday because Wentz needed to pass a physical before the deal could be announced. Los Angeles is on vacation this week.

Wentz has not played in the NFL this season after starting seven games for the Washington Commanders last year. The seven-year NFL veteran started all 17 games for Philadelphia for five years and will start all 17 games for Indianapolis in 2021.

The Rams (3-6) are in need of another quarterback to replace Matthew Stafford, who was sidelined last weekend in Green Bay due to a sprained thumb ligament.

The Rams have lost three straight games, dropping to 8-18 since winning the Super Bowl.
Before Stafford’s injury, the Rams’ only other quarterback was backup Brett Rypien, who struggled to a 13-of-28 performance with two fumbles and an interception in a 20-3 loss.

The Rams waived Rypien on Tuesday, which was necessary if the team intends to re-sign him to the practice squad.

Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that he expects Stafford to play in their next game against Seattle on Nov. 19, but the signing of Wentz suggests the Rams want insurance in case the injury persists or Stafford is injured again.

Los Angeles attempted to make it through the season with only Stafford and Rypien as quarterbacks. Stetson Bennett was drafted in the fourth round by the Rams last spring, but the two-time national champion from Georgia has been absent from the team since the preseason for undisclosed reasons.

Stafford missed the second half of last season with a bruised spinal cord, and the Rams were forced to rely on backups John Wolford and Bryce Perkins. Los Angeles then signed Baker Mayfield, who led the Rams to a win over Las Vegas two days after signing and eventually revived his career enough to earn a new contract as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback this season.

After thoroughly evaluating both quarterbacks, Rams general manager Les Snead chose Jared Goff over Wentz as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. Goff led the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance before being traded to Detroit in exchange for Stafford, who won the Super Bowl in his first year with the team.

In his NFL career, Wentz has passed for 22,129 yards and 151 touchdowns. He was having a standout season for the Eagles in 2017 when he suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Rams, and Nick Foles went on to lead Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory.

Wentz’s career has been a saga of high expectations and missed opportunities for his teams, but he has consistently put up respectable numbers. In 2019, he passed for a career-high 4,039 yards for the Eagles, but he lost his starting job to Jalen Hurts in 2020.

Wentz then performed admirably for the Colts in 2021, passing for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Washington then acquired Wentz in March 2022 in exchange for a second-round pick and a third-round pick, but Wentz was inconsistent even before breaking his ring finger in October and losing the starting job to Taylor Heinecke.

Wentz, 30, was released by Washington in February with two years remaining on his contract, and he went unsigned during the offseason.

On Tuesday, the Rams released running back Myles Gaskin and defensive tackle Cory Durden, as well as quarterback Dresser Winn from the practice squad. Following Stafford’s injury, the team re-signed Winn last week.

On November 26, the Los Angeles Rams will face the Arizona Cardinals. Wentz is 2-0 in career starts against the Cardinals.