The Los Angeles Rams are leaning toward having newly-acquired QB Baker Mayfield active for Thursday’s game with the Las Vegas Raiders, though whether he or UVA alum Bryce Perkins will get the start is still unsettled.
Starter Matthew Stafford, who led the Rams to a Super Bowl title in February, is out for the season with a spinal cord issue.
Backup John Wolford, a Wake Forest alum, is listed as questionable with a neck injury.
Perkins, the third-stringer, got his first NFL regular-season start on Nov. 27 at Kansas City, throwing for 100 yards in a 26-10 loss to the Chiefs.
The 2020 UVA alum was 13-of-23 passing in the start at KC with a TD pass, two INTs, and he had a team-best 44 yards on the ground on nine attempts.
Mayfield, the #1 overall pick in 2018, was granted his release by the Carolina Panthers on Monday after interim coach Steve Wilks told him that he would not be the starter or the backup for the Panthers going forward this season.
Mayfield, in seven games with Carolina this season, passed for 1,313 yards, six TDs, six INTs, a 57.8 percent completion rate, a 74.4 passer rating and an awful 18.3 QBR.
The Panthers were 1-5 in his six starts this season, and have gone 3-3 since replacing him as the starter at QB.
Rams coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that he is leaning toward Mayfield, who arrived in LA on Tuesday night, being active tomorrow night.
“There are some similarities to systems that he’s run in previous years and previous places where there’s a similar vernacular or verbage. So, we’ll really see. It’s 12 o’clock right now, he literally just got here about 14 hours ago when we ended up starting to meet with him,” McVay said.
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Chris Graham
