After many weeks of discussing whether the Bucs should fill out their quarterback room with a rookie or young quarterback or a long tenured veteran, the Bucs split the difference. The team announced on Tuesday that they have signed John Wolford to be their third quarterback. He’s been in the NFL for four years.

Wolford’s Career History

Wolford played his college football and Wake Forest and signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He participated throughout the preseason but was cut in September before the regular season got going.

For his next move, Wolford entered the Alliance of American Football (AAF) league in 2019 and was drafted by the Arizona Hotshots in the second round. He was named starter after a preseason competition and got named the offensive player of the week after his Week 1 regular season performance and received the award again in Week 7. Overall he started seven of eight games and recorded a 5-2 record.

Return To NFL

Rams head coach Sean McVay – Photo by: USA Today

Wolford made his return to the NFL starting in 2019 and ended up obtaining a great deal of experience. He signed to the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad in that season and got activated in 2020. Wolford made his first career start that year in Week 17 facing the Cardinals in a game where the Rams needed to win to make the playoffs.

He became the first quarterback in league history to throw for over 250 yards and rush for 50 yards in their debut as Los Angeles defeated Arizona 18-7. He completed 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards and one interceptions with 56 rushing yards. Wolford started their playoff game against the Seahawks the next week as well, but injured his neck early in the game and exited in the first quarter.

Wolford saw a brief amount of playing time in three games during the 2021 season but did start in three games last year in 2022. In those contests he posted a 1-2 record, completing 38 of 62 passing attempts for 390 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions, and 32 rushing yards. He has a career record of 2-2.

Bucs Fill Out QB Room

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Learning under the guidance of Sean McVay, Wolford should have a good knowledge of the Bucs offense as Dave Canales’ system should be similar. Wolford was actually a teammate of Baker Mayfield with the Rams last season when Mayfield joined the organization in December.

The Bucs now have their third quarterback in the room, but it’s still a two man competition to be the starter between Kyle Trask and Mayfield. With that said, it’s good for Tampa Bay to have someone such as Wolford that has starting experience, particularly in a situation where it’s later in the season due to injuries and other situations.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: USA Today

There were thoughts of drafting a rookie quarterback this year, but with a new offense, everyone is learning the system and the Bucs elected to fill other positions of need.They also didn’t bring in a long time veteran such Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan, as Canales’ offense will require a lot of mobility from the quarterback this season.

Many undrafted free agents were signed by the Bucs after the NFL Draft. They didn’t sign any quarterbacks but did give Southeastern’s Kaylan Wiggins and Incarnate Word’s Lindsey Scott a rookie mini-camp invitation.

Pewter Report had reported that although the Bucs love Ryan Griffin, they are going to head in a new direction with quarterbacks this season. With Trask, Mayfield and Wolford on roster, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Bucs kept another on the practice squad.