I really couldn’t help myself with the picture/headline combination. The Los Angeles Rams announced on Tuesday that they have signed quarterback Dylan Thompson. He joins a depth chart that includes Jared Goff and Sean Mannion.
Thompson originally entered the NFL in 2015 when the San Francisco 49ers signed him as a UDFA out of South Carolina. He spent the first ten weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad, but then was promoted to the active roster when Colin Kaepernick was placed on injured reserve. He was a DNP in all seven games he was on the 53-man roster. The 49ers cut Thompson in May 2016 to make room for their new class of UDFAs.
Goff is the clear starter in LA, and that was only bolstered by the decision to not add any notable talent to the depth chart. Mannion has not done a whole lot of much, and Thompson is only a year removed from being a UDFA. They clearly want to give Goff every possible chance to find success, but if he happens to be pushed for the starting job by Mannion and/or Thompson, that will be seriously problematic for the Rams.
They don’t have a serious option in case Goff continues to falter. It feels like they’ve just thrown Goff in the deep end and hope for the best. Maybe it works out, but this does not strike me as the best strategic option. Good teams usually seem willing to push their presumed starters with real competition. And given the importance of the quarterback position, one would think the Rams would want to do the same. I guess not for now.