The Los Angeles Rams enjoyed a cozy ride under Sean McVay for the first five years of his tenure as head coach, so it was difficult to question his methods, no matter how far they’ve strayed from the norm. That included McVay’s annual decision to protect any expected starters in the preseason—for the most part—even when L.A.’s starters were not always the most experienced or weathered veterans and may have benefited from more playing time with low stakes.
For example, McVay sat John Wolford for the entire 2021 preseason and gave 100% of the snaps to Bryce Perkins, meaning that the Rams backup quarterback for most the past few seasons literally appeared in two games of any kind between 2020-2021.