The Los Angeles Rams are turning over a new leaf this season, but they aren’t the only ones. While the franchise hasn’t moved since the 2016 offseason, most of the players from its inaugural year in Los Angeles have. With football back in the center of the zeitgeist, here’s a look at some ex-Rams in new places as of August 2023. Of course, with this being a month of massive turnover in the league, things may differ over the long haul.
Ex-Rams in the 2023 Preseason
John Wolford (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
The backup quarterback who held the fort during the transition from Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford is no longer with the team. However, his time on the gridiron isn’t quite over yet as the quarterback was spotted getting reps in a preseason game as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady’s successor likely will either be Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask, but for now, Wolford is in the fold as a member of the team.
In his most recent action against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Wolford completed ten of 17 throws for 111 yards, a touchdown, and zero interceptions. Mayfield threw for 63 yards, completing eight of nine passes, and threw a touchdown without any interceptions. Kyle Trask had the worst day, throwing for 99 yards and an interception, completing six of ten passes.
Brandin Cooks (Dallas Cowboys)
This ex-Ram helped bring the team to a Super Bowl on Jared Goff’s watch. In the Big Game, he caught eight passes for 120 yards. Since Brandin Cooks time with the Rams ended in 2019, he’s gone on to play three seasons with the Houston Texans. In 2023, he is now a member of Dak Prescott‘s Cowboys. Based on the working depth chart on ESPN, he is set to serve as the second-string receiver behind CeeDee Lamb. He didn’t play this past weekend but was spotted in practice before the first preseason game.
At age 29, the wide receiver still has at least one good season left to give before the dreaded age 30 season hits. He is coming off a tenue in which he earned at least 1000 yards in two of his last three seasons, so Cowboys fans have reasonably high expectations for him to perform close to as well as he did under Sean McVay.
Robert Woods (Houston Texans)
“Mr. Jets Sweep”, wide receiver Robert Woods made a name for himself with the Rams in his lengthy tenure from 2017 until 2021. The wide receiver turned in three years in which he earned at least 900 yards. Woods is now on the wrong side of 30 but isn’t done in the NFL just yet. According to ESPN’s working depth chart, he’ll be on the field as the second-string receiver behind Nico Collins.
He’ll be hoping that he can be the same security blanket for CJ Stroud that he was for Jared Goff in his earlier years. He didn’t play in the first preseason game but was present in the lead-up to the event.