Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff hopes to be back for the playoffs, but his team will only have to get there without him.
Goff will undergo surgery on his broken and dislocated right thumb on Monday, hoping he can return for the national season, Ilan Rapoport, NFL Network, reported.
Goff will miss the team’s final game against the Arizona Cardinals, with John Wolford the forward in place of Goff.
Up to 15 starts this season for the Rams (9-6), and Goff threw for 3,952 yards (263.5 per game) with 20 times to 13 interceptions. He played the duration of Sunday’s 20-9 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, despite injuring his thumb.
Goff broke his throwing thumb and disrupted when his hand hit a helmet of a Seahawks defender in the third quarter. Goff could be seen later in the broadcast that lowered his thumb back into place.
A win or a draw against the Cardinals (8-7) – or a loss or a draw from the Chicago Bears – will clinch a playoff game for the Rams on Sunday.
Should that happen, Goff wants to be back for the playoffs and believes he has a chance, Rapoport said. The Week 17 trend toward the Cardinals is the first of Goff’s career to be missed due to injury, according to NFL Research.
Goff’s operation will be performed by dr. Steven Shin is being handled, reports Tom Pelissero, NFL Network. Shin is the Rams ‘hand specialist and also repaired Drew Brees’ thumb from New Orleans Saints last season.
With Goff’s surgery, Wolford, 25, is likely to come to the fore. The 6-foot-1 Wolford has yet to play in an NFL game in the regular season and has joined the Rams after a 2019 stint with the Arizona Hot Shots of the Alliance of American Football.
While the Rams are going with a former AAF standout, the Cardinals are hopeful of having Kyler Murray (lower leg) for the Sunday power play, but if Murray can not go, former Canadian Football League standout Chris Streveler is number 2 on the map depth map.