The performance of Bryce Perkins against Raiders gives Rams a lot to think about

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Almost anyone who saw the Rams ’loss to the Raiders came out thinking one thing: Bryce Perkins can play. The Virginia sophomore quarterback showed a lot of balance, potential and ability to make games Saturday night, his first extensive action in the NFL.

He played the entire game at the Rams after taking just 22 snapshots last week against the Chargers, which showed the confidence of the coaching staff. Sean McVay even said after the game that the original plan was not for Perkins to get all the details. It was the quarterback’s play that influenced McVay’s decision, which allowed him to build a pace with the secondary offense.

“Just based on the flow of the game, there were just a few different opportunities,” McVay said. “You want him to respond from the interception. It has a bit of a boost, you wanted the second part to start. So this was not necessarily the plan, we just had a feeling during the match, wanting to give it that chance and we’ll see what it will be like next week. “

It’s a good thing the Rams kept Perkins there, as not only did he gain extended playing time, but he almost led the Rams to victory back in the fourth quarter. He completed 26 of 39 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, with his only glaring error being a deep pass on triple cover for Tutu Atwell.

He added 41 yards running over nine runs, the best of which was a heroic fight in the fourth to pick up the first and keep the Rams ’final unit alive.

Two plays later, Perkins hit Jacob Harris for a touchdown to make it 17-16, but the Rams weren’t going to play for the tie. McVay wanted to go for two, and Kevin O’Connell re-marked the Perkins-Harris connection for the third time in the unit.

Perkins ’pass fell incomplete, though he couldn’t connect with Harris to get a two-point conversion that won the game.

But despite the result, Perkins ’performance gives the Rams a lot to think about. With the way he’s played in the preseason, it might be hard to cut him, not because the Rams need a third-string quarterback on the 53-man roster, but because there’s a good chance they’ll lose him with the lead. of the waiver.

McVay talked about his performance against the Raiders after the game, being impressed by the way the former Virginia Cavalier played.

“It’s exciting,” the coach said. “I thought he also did a very good job of being able to create out of time, but also on schedule. See the pre-game touchdown pass to Kendall Blanton, being able to work through a progression. So I thought you saw a lot of good things about him. Lots of opportunities to evaluate a lot of things so that he can learn, but I really liked his balance, his mastery and his calmness throughout the game tonight ”.

Putting Perkins on the training squad would be ideal, giving him one more year to learn from McVay, O’Connell, Matthew Stafford and John Wolford. But if he is cut and the waivers are waived, the Rams will lose him without the opportunity to hire him on the training squad.

He won’t beat Wolford for backup work, but he has clearly consolidated his place as QB3 ahead of Duck Hodges, who didn’t take the field for a single shot against the Raiders. And while it’s great to see Perkins play so well, this exposure can cost the Rams the chance to add him to the training roster when the final cuts are made.

So do they keep three quarterbacks for fear another team will claim Perkins? Or do they take that risk and wait for him to slip through the cracks to have a chance to keep another player in a position that needs more depth than the quarterback?

McVay has a lot to keep in mind in this situation now, and it will be fascinating to see how the quarterback situation plays out against the Broncos in next week’s preseason final.

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