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Lindsey ThiryESPN
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay has no intention of revealing before the start of the game whether Jared Goff or John Wolford will start as a defender in Saturday’s wild card game at the Seattle Seahawks.
“I am not going to make an announcement about who is starting and who is not,” McVay said tersely during a videoconference with reporters on Tuesday. “I am not going to answer that question this week.”
McVay said he expects wide receiver Cooper Kupp and striker Michael Brockers to be activated from the reserve list / COVID-19 before Saturday and that there is a good chance of leaving Andrew Whitworth – who broke his MCL and posterior cruciate ligament in week 10 – will be activated from the injured reserve
As the Rams prepare for their third playoff appearance in four seasons, Goff continues to recover from surgery on the thumb of the throwing hand he suffered a day after the week 16 defeat to Seahawks division champion at Lumen Field.
Immediately after Goff’s surgery, McVay expressed confidence that the procedure would allow him to return to the playoffs; on Tuesday, McVay changed that statement.
“What I probably should have said is that there is a possibility that he will be ready to go as soon as if we were able to make it to the playoffs,” said McVay. “I didn’t know the full implications of rehabilitation.”
McVay said that Goff “threw some balls” but was unable to provide an update on whether the defender made a snap.
“He’s doing well,” said McVay. “He had surgery recently, so I know he’s doing everything in his power to get ready to go.”
When asked if he had a time to determine if Goff could play, McVay joked, “Yes, Saturday at 1:39 pm.”
The kickoff is scheduled for 13h40 PT.
Wolford made his NFL debut on Sunday in Goff’s absence and won his first NFL win – over the Arizona Cardinals – which secured a playoff spot for the Rams. Wolford went 231 yards, with an interception, and ran 56 yards on six loads.
“I really liked the things he did the other day and it gives you some flexibility in how you handle this week, but I feel good about having two guys,” said McVay. “How much Jared is capable of doing this week and how that thing feels will definitely affect how we handle the rest of the week and what it will be like on Saturday.”
Sunday’s competition marked the first significant game in Goff’s five seasons that he was unavailable for. In 15 games this season, Goff went through 3,952 yards and 20 touchdowns, but was responsible for 17 of Rams’ 25 spins.
McVay crushed any notion of quarterback controversy when asked who he would start with if they were both equally healthy and whether he would lean towards Goff because of his experience.
“Jared is our starting quarterback, and the reality is that he had thumb surgery,” said McVay. “We are monitoring this every day and this is something that we take one day at a time, but the expectation is that both are getting ready to go.”
McVay did not rule out the possibility of Goff and Wolford playing on Saturday.