PHOENIX – With Baker Mayfield off to compete for Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting job and John Wolford and Bryce Perkins both free agents, the Rams currently do not have a backup for quarterback Matthew Stafford on their roster at the time of this writing on March 28.
In working toward that solution, both the draft and free agency are in play for Los Angeles, according to head coach Sean McVay.
"Obviously, Matthew is the only quarterback we have on the roster right now," McVay said Tuesday during his roundtable media session at the NFL annual meetings. "So in some form or fashion, we have to be able to address that, whether that's via (the) draft or free agency. And so those are things that we're definitely monitoring."
The Rams currently have 11 picks in this year's NFL Draft, the highest being No. 36 overall in the second round.
Would they use a high draft pick on a quarterback, or a later pick on a developmental player at that position? That's to be determined, given the number of needs L.A. has.
"I don't know if we'll necessarily need to do that. There's a lot of different things that we have to address," McVay said. "Being able to kind of prioritize those things, and then in a lot of instances, those decisions kind of unfold for you. I think you want to make sure that you have an appreciation for a lot of different players in this draft at a lot of different positions."
If Los Angeles does go the draft route, McVay identified the traits he looks for in a young quarterback.
"I think the first thing is, you're looking for a guy that has the ability to be able to play with the rhythm, timing, throw the ball with accuracy and anticipation, some of the playmaking abilities," McVay said. "Guys that have the ability when the rush is beating down on you to be able to keep your eyes down the field and (have a) no flinch mentality. Those are some of the things. Anytime that a guy can bring athleticism to the position, that's always a plus. But ultimately, you're looking for a guy that has a poise, has a command, has a confidence and an ability to consistently deliver the football with accuracy and anticipation."
Regardless of the direction they take, McVay knows that developing a young quarterback must be part of their future plans at some point.
"You definitely know that's going to be a part of what we have to do moving forward," McVay said. "Whether that's somebody that has experience or not, we'll see. I think it's really just getting excited about developing players in general. You know for sure there's going to be a lot of younger players that we're going to rely on to be key factors on our team moving forward. Whether that's a quarterback, whether that's guys on the defensive side of the ball, I'm excited about that."
