John Wolford: An Unexpectedly Good Bucs QB

John Wolford’s time in the NFL did not have a glamorous start. Coming into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest, Wolford signed with the New York Jets after the 2018 NFL Draft and would remain with them for a portion of their offseason.

Wolford played in the preseason finale for New York and posted a stat line of 89 passing yards with one interception, and no TDs. He got cut during the team’s final roster moves before the regular season and signed with the Jets practice squad. However, the very next day, Wolford would be released from the practice squad and his time with the Jets would come to a quick end.

Wolford’s NFL career would be put on hold as he would play in the now-defunct AAF in their inaugural season battling with Trevor Knight for the team’s starting job. Wolford would win the starting job after an impressive preseason game and would play very well through eight games finishing with a 63.4 completion percentage, 1,616 passing yards, 160 rushing yards, 14 passing touchdowns (six passing two-point conversions), seven interceptions, one rushing TD (three rushing two-point conversions) and would finish the year leading the AAF in TD passes.

John Wolford’s Return To The NFL

After the AAF suspended operations, John Wolford would sign with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 where he would spend the entire season on the team’s practice squad after being placed there during final roster cuts before the regular season. In the 2020 season, Wolford would finally get to see NFL action as he would step in for the final game of the year after then-starter Jared Goff sustained an injury to close out the year.

In Wolford’s first start, he would play okay, finishing with 56 rushing yards, 231 passing yards, one interception, and a win against the Arizona Cardinals. Wolford would then start the Rams’ Wild Card playoff game against the rival Seahawks and would be taken out of the game due to a neck injury, but the Rams would win the game.

In 2021 Wolford would serve as the backup once again behind QB Matthew Stafford where he would get a Super Bowl ring after the Rams defeated the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. In 2022 Wolford would once again see action as he started three games for the team after Stafford was placed in concussion protocol. Wolford would finish with a 61.3 completion percentage, one passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 32 rushing yards, and a 1-2 record in three games. After this Wolford would finish the season as the team’s backup QB once Stafford was back from injury.

Time To Play In Tampa Bay

John Wolford would finally join the Bucs on May 9, and would begin to make an impact right away for the Bucs. New Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales would give massive praise to Wolford saying that he is the “smartest guy” in the Bucs QB room.

He is a player who can make all the throws required in the offense and is able to gel well into the system and run the offense the way the coaching staff would like it. Part of this is because of the experience that Wolford has in a similar system due to his time in LA, but it also shows the ability that Wolford has as a quarterback if you are able to place him into a system that compliments his strengths.

During the 2023 training camp, Wolford has looked excellent and would be a legitimate backup QB for the Bucs if the team did not have such strong commitments to Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.

In the Bucs’ first preseason game against the Steelers, Wolford was able to showcase good ability as well as working with the backups, completing 10-of-17 passing for 111 yards, with one touchdown while throwing no interceptions during the game. Wolford showed good poise in the pocket, much like he has done in practice and was the second-best quarterback in the Bucs’ first preseason game behind Baker Mayfield. He led the team on a 95-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Wolford will likely wind up on the practice squad as the team’s third-string quarterback, replacing Ryan Griffin, who was in that role a year ago. If the time came when the Bucs needed Wolford, they would be in capable hands at the quarterback position. Not many teams can say that about their third-string QB.