Brett Rypien took the reins at quarterback on Sunday in Green Bay with Matthew Stafford sidelined by a thumb injury, but his first start with the Rams did not go well. He completed 13 of 28 passes for 130 yards with an interception and lost fumble.
With bye this week, the Rams can spend some time evaluating the quarterback position before taking the field against the Seahawks in Week 11. The good news is that Matthew Stafford should be back for that game, based on the indications Sean McVay gave Monday.
He’s optimistic about Stafford returning in Week 11, so the Rams don’t have to worry too much about starting Rypien again. That being said, Los Angeles is considering bringing in some competition behind Stafford at quarterback.
“The good thing is that the inclination and the direction that we’re headed, I don’t think that’s going to be a part of the conversation,” McVay said of whether he’ll stick with Rypien if Stafford is out. “Feel really good about Matthew and how much he’s attacked doing everything in his power to be back and to lead the way for this team. We’re going to look at a lot of different things over this break here. I’m optimistic that I don’t even think that’s something that we have to worry about, but we will figure out whether it be, not exclusive to the quarterback position but at some other spots, where are possibilities to be able to add competition. That could be one of them, but we haven’t made those decisions quite yet.”
Right now, it’s Stafford and Rypien on the 53-man roster, and Dresser Winn on the practice squad. After Stafford went down, the Rams weren’t aggressive in pursuing another quarterback, opting to just sign Winn – an undrafted rookie – to the practice squad.
After seeing the way Rypien played on Sunday, maybe now they feel it’s time to bring in someone with more experience and a proven track record.
