With a wild card berth clinched, the Rams have elected to rest Matthew Stafford for Week 18 and start Carson Wentz at quarterback.
Wentz has appeared briefly in one game since signing with the Rams in November. But this will be his first opportunity since Week 17 of last year to get some extended playing time.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Wentz said it’s been fun to be with Los Angeles this season.
“Obviously, it’s a different role for me and it’s been new in that regard, but it’s been a lot of fun working with Matthew and seeing kind of how he goes about his business,” Wentz said in his press conference. “It’s a very young coaching staff and that’s been really fun to be a part of. It’s a very different scheme than what I’m used to, all those things. So for me, it’s just been all about learning and just accumulating knowledge within this system and just being ready to help, so I’ve enjoyed it.”
Wentz joined the Rams in a different role than Baker Mayfield did last year and hasn’t had the same playing time. But there is a thought that like Mayfield, Wentz could potentially be well served from his time around head coach Sean McVay in the future with another team.
“Yeah, I obviously saw what [Mayfield] did. I see the year he’s having now and I’m happy for him,” Wentz said. “But to me, a lot of those things aren’t really clouding my ability to go play. For me, it’s just go play, have fun, try to help this team win and still, I know it’s a different circumstance. It’s Week 18. It’s all those things, but my job is still to go out there and try to help this team win and figure all that out later. But I’m enjoying it and excited for it.”
But to that end, Wentz has an opportunity to show he can be effective against a San Francisco team that has already clinched the No. 1 seed and will start Sam Darnold at quarterback. If Los Angeles wins, it will maintain the NFC’s No. 6 seed — which is potentially significant.
“We’ll see how the week goes with all of that on their end as well, but I’m excited for it,” Wentz said. “I’ve played a couple times down there in San Fran and it’s a fun environment. It’s going to be hopefully a beautiful Sunday afternoon in California.
“Excited to go get a chance and yes, there is still some stuff to play for and there’s things at stake and it’s January. I haven’t played a game in a long time so I’m excited for it.”
