Perkins wins No. 3 QB spot with Los Angeles Rams

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Good news for Bryce Perkins fans. Coming off a strong performance against the Las Vegas Raiders over the weekend, Perkins has nailed down the No. 3 quarterback spot on the Los Angeles Rams’ present 80-man roster.

The Rams announced Monday that they had cut three players in order to reach the 80 limit, one day ahead of the deadline. One of the players released was Devlin “Duck” Hodges, who had been battling all of training camp with Perkins for the No. 3 spot.

Matthew Stafford and backup John Wolhford, are sitting out the preseason, which afforded Perkins an opportunity to play the entire game against the Raiders, a 17-16 loss. However, Perkins led the team down the field in the final minutes to close within one point, then had his two-point conversion pass fall incomplete.

Perkins is likely to play the entire game in the Rams preseason finale against the Denver Broncos this weekend.

Perkins, who led Virginia to back-to-back bowl games in 2018 and 2019, impressed LA’s coaching staff with his performance in that narrow loss to the Raiders. Rams coach Sean McVay had planned to split time between Perkins and Hodges, but changed his mind after Perkins was intercepted early in the game. McVay wanted to see how the former UVA quarterback would bounce back from adversity.

Obviously, Perkins delivered and McVay was more than impressed.

“Unbelievable job, just battling throughout,” McVay said. “It’s exciting. I was really pleased just with his poise, his command and composure throughout the course of the game.”

Perkins posted 208 yards passing in a 26-for 39 passing effort, which included a TD pass and an interception. He also rushed for 41 yards, including 18 yards scrambling on the final 76-yard drive (he accounted for 74 of those yards running or passing). During that drive he scrambled three times to extend the march, converting a third-and-six, a fourth-and-1 and a fourth-and-five.