If you click on John Wolford’s statistics page, you will see “NO RESULTS AVAILABLE” in large, bold letters. It is not a filter or loading problem. The 25-year-old quarterback had no chance in the regular NFL season in his career.
Wolford doesn’t have time to crawl or use a walking aid. No, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback must flee since his first snap, as he makes his NFL debut in a victory and fight in Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals.
After planning a career in finance, the Wake Forest product set aside banking to try a chance as an NFL QB. Not written in 2018, Wolford received a call from the New York Jets, where he spent the preseason. He then left an AAF mark with the Arizona Hotshots, completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,617 yards (the second longest in the league), 7.8 yards per attempt with a 14 touchdown AAF with seven interceptions and a 95.9 QB rating.
After his stint in the defunct league, Wolford was hired as Jared Goff’s reserve in 2019. With Sean McVay as coach, there is no much better landing place for a young QB to work every day. After Goff had thumb surgery this week, the first crack in Wolford’s career will come in a high-pressure situation.
“It was a fun journey to get to this point,” Wolford said on Wednesday via the Associated Press. “It is a lot of hard work and I am confident in the time that I spent here. I am confident in my abilities as a player. I know I can spin. I know how to play, and then mentally it’s about making the right decisions.”
If you are looking for curiosities for Sunday’s clash, there is this excellent nugget in Wolford: entering Week 17, he has 22 fewer attempts to pass to the NFL (0) in his career than Rams bettor Johnny Hekker (13 22, 184 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT in the row).
The high stakes do not concern the former Demon Deacon.
“I’m just going to bow my head and work as best I can,” said Wolford. “Whatever happens, I’ll be able to sleep at night. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
Wolford will become the 25th QB to make his first career start in Week 17 (since the NFL switched to a 16-game season in 1978). The previous 24 have a record of 5-19 WL, but each of the last two has won (Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City in 2017 at DEN and Kyle Allen of Carolina in 2018 at NO).
It is a new challenge for McVay. Goff almost started a game of the coach’s management in LA, a game of Week 17 in 2017, when the incumbent rested. Sean Mannion started that day with Rams having already won NFC West.
Sunday’s sub situation will be very different.