Jared Goff still limited in practice, but Rams QB is throwing ahead of wild-card meeting with Seahawks
Rams regular starting quarterback Jared Goff, who is still recovering from thumb surgery on his throwing hand less than two weeks ago, is still being listed as limited in practice, but looks to be preparing for a possible return in Saturday’s wild-card game in Seattle.
Goff has resumed throwing, and was shown taking snaps and spinning footballs during individual drills at practice Wednesday in videos taken by local reporters.
The fifth-year quarterback was reportedly wearing a small wrap on his throwing thumb, but is shown completing passes of varying distances.
Will Goff, whose most recent start was in a 20-9 loss at Lumen Field two weeks ago, when he injured the thumb, make it back by the weekend?
Rams coach Sean McVay said Tuesday he doesn’t intend to name a starting quarterback until game day, but the decision will surely hinge on Goff’s progress.
“There will be a lot of things that go into it,” McVay said Tuesday. “But, I think you’ve got to really just be able to see, alright, from a functionality standpoint how is he feeling? What does it look like just being able to get out there (Wednesday) and the following day? I think really just evaluating the totality of the situation while not minimizing the fact that he did have a thumb surgery.
“I know he’s been attacking everything the right way, he’s done his part and we’ll just take it a day at a time. That’s kind of what’s going to go into it. I don’t want to really get too far ahead of myself. I think you just want to be able to see and evaluate when he’s getting out there in a practice setting, what does that look like? Get his feedback on how it feels because playing the position and then being able to play catch and long toss is a little bit different.”
Goff has been Los Angeles’ starter since midway through his rookie season in 2016, has guided the Rams to three postseason appearances in five years and a Super Bowl, and had played 100% of the team’s offensive snaps through Week 16.
John Wolford, who started in Goff’s place in the regular season finale against the Cardinals, impressed, but that was also his NFL debut.
“The good thing is, you know you’ve got a guy that’s won a lot of games, taken us to a Super Bowl and done a lot of great things over his career in Jared,” McVay said. “And then with John having had his first experience in an NFL game, I did like a lot of the things that he did the other day, and so that gives you some flexibility with how you handle this week.
“Feel good about having those two guys, but how much Jared is able to do this week and how that (thumb) feels will definitely go into how we handle the rest of the week and what it looks like for Saturday.”
The Seahawks, meanwhile, continue to plan for McVay’s offense as a whole, regardless of who starts behind center.
“It doesn’t change much about how we prepare,” Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said Tuesday. “They’re a really good team. They’re in the playoffs. This is our third time playing them, and we’re very familiar with each other.
“We watched them play last week and they still are pretty doggone good, so it doesn’t change much for how we prepare for it.”
The Seahawks have noted the differences between the two passers — Wolford showed more mobility than Goff typically does in his one start — but the makeup of the offense is similar.
Seahawks safety Jamal Adams said he’s watched the Rams’ win over the Cardinals earlier this week multiple times to see the differences in Wolford’s play.
“It’s different, but very similar in a lot of ways, and again, I respect what Sean McVay does over there, and what he does is he sticks to a script,” Adams said. “He believes in his system and I have nothing but respect for that guy.
“He’s going to continue doing what he does, because he believes in himself and he believes in the guys he has, so we’ve got to go out there and slow them down as best we can.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 6:14 PM.
