10 Best Rams Quarterbacks of All Time, Ranked

The Los Angeles Rams are one of the NFL’s oldest franchises, originally based in Cleveland before relocating in 1946.

The winners of two Super Bowls and two NFL championships (before the 1970 merger), the Rams have been a reasonably successful franchise.

Crucial to that has been consistently impressive quarterback play, from Bob Waterfield to now Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford – and the many in between.

Here are Heavy’s picks for the top 10 Rams quarterbacks of all time:

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10. Vince Ferragamo (1977-1980; 1982-1984)

Vince Ferragamo went from bench warmer to Super Bowl starter in a matter of games when he had to replace injured Rams QB Pat Haden for the final five games of the 1979 season after spending the previous two years of his young NFL career as backup. In his first starts as a professional, Ferragamo played very impressively, going 4-1 in the regular season before coming on the brink of giving them a true Cinderella story against the dynastic Pittsburgh Steelers, who they ultimately lost to in 1980 Super Bowl. Ferragamo followed that up with a solid sophomore season in 1980, going 11-4 and throwing for 30 touchdowns, though after briefly leaving the NFL and the Rams to try out in the Canadian Football League, he was never the same player.

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9. Pat Haden (1976-1981)

Ferragamo’s predecessor, who here gets the nod ahead of his successor by a whisker. Originally a third string, Pat Haden came midway through the 1976 season and impressed en route to a 5-1-1 record. In fact, even with a strong showing and an NFC Championship appearance, the Rams decided to bring in an aging Joe Namath as their starter in 1977, who Haden took over when Namath realized his body didn’t have much left. Despite only starting a total of 60 games in his career, he led the Rams to conference championships on 2 separate occasions, the second coming in 1978 against the Dallas Cowboys.

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8. Marc Bulger (2001-2009)

One of the many great underdog stories in Rams history, Marc Bulger went from a sixth pick stranded on the practice squad to starting in seven straight seasons in the NFL. A fine QB who collected multiple Pro Bowls and put up strong individual numbers, Bulger was never able to overcome a franchise that was in severe dysfunction at the time, playing under four coaches in seven years. As a result, Bulger never won a playoff game, despite having .500 or better records as a starter in four of his seven years of playing.

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7. Jared Goff (2016-2020)

After what was a historically bad start in the National Football League – 0-7 with 5 touchdowns and 7 picks – Rams head coach Jeff Fisher scrapped offensive prodigy Sean McVay. Under McVay, Jared Goff turned into a Pro Bowl-caliber QB and reached the 2018 Super Bowl, which he lost in a defensive (snoozefest) game to the New England Patriots, 13-3. But consecutive seasons of good but not elite play convinced Rams brass to take a swing at stronger-armed veteran Matthew Stafford in a trade that sent Goff to the Detroit Lions.

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6. Jim Everett (1986-1993)

Jim Everett‘s last few years on the Rams don’t do a proper service to his initial fast start. Everett pushed the Rams into the playoffs in three of his first four years with the team — and almost into it Super Bowl in 1989. Unfortunately, Everett was unable to bring the Rams back to the postseason, despite having strong performances – such as a Pro Bowl appearance in 1990, and his final four years in LA ended as a losing streak. A big, prototypical quarterback who ultimately never quite got where he wanted to, Everett still had a great career in Los Angeles and is arguably one of their best QBs of all time.

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5. Norm Van Brocklin (1949-1957)

The winner of the Rams’ second NFL championship in 1951, Van Brocklin is best known for holding the record for most passing yards in a game – an incredible 554 in the ’51 championship-winning year. Van Brocklin spent the majority of his storied career with the Rams, earning six Pro Bowls and three second-team All Pro nods in his nine years in Los Angeles – generating both team and individual successes during his tenure on the Rams.

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4. Bob Waterfield (1945-1952)

Water field shared the snaps with the man who would prove to be his future successor, Norm Van Brocklin, en route to winning the NFL Championship in 1951. The Hall of Fame QB spent his entire 8-year career with the Rams and was named an All- Pro team in five of them, in addition to receiving the NFL MVP in 1945. One of the game’s original pioneers, Waterfield was an athletic, imposing competitor who helped create brilliant initial success at The Rams franchise.

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3. Roman Gabriel (1962-1972)

Former MVP Roman Gabriel did almost nothing in the playoffs during his 11-year run, reached the postseason twice and compiled a career 0-2 record in it. However, this does not tell the whole story: Only by contributing off the bench in his first four seasons, Gabriel finally managed to win the starting job in 1966, after which he led the Rams to six consecutive winning seasons. In the modern era, Gabriel probably would have had a crack at creating more playoff success, but at the time only four teams advanced from the regular season to the postseason. Either way, Gabriel is undoubtedly one of the greatest Rams quarterbacks—actually the Rams, period—whose dual-threat ability and improvisational ability helped LA become one of the consistently best franchises in football in the late 60s and early 70s.

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2. Matthew Stafford (2021-present)

The first of two Super Bowl winners – it was always going to come down to these players at the bottom of the list. Matthew Stafford’s career with the Rams has actually been somewhat mediocre outside of the 2021 Super Bowl win, though much of that comes down to injuries that have plagued the team over the past three seasons. The decisive, big-armed Georgia quarterback finally lived up to his promising talent when he moved from Detroit to LA, coming ultra close to making a second playoff run in 2023 only to be narrowly beaten by, ironically, the Lions. Stafford’s best days are probably behind him, but his composure and professionalism in continuing to play well and persevere in the face of the last three challenging years have earned him the respect of the entire organization and more, and for that elusive second Lombardi Trophy, he delivered in 2021, he gets no. 2 on this list.

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1. Kurt Warner (1998-2003)

The true underdog story, so much so that they even made a movie about it. Kurt Warnerwho came undrafted out of college, had to try out in the arena football league and NFL Europe before being signed by head coach and GM Dick Vermeil. After an injury to incumbent starter Trent Green, Warner shocked the NFL world by going 13-3 and picking up an NFL MVP in 1999 for an offense so potent it was given its own nickname – “Greatest Show on Turf” – winner 2000 Super Bowl. Warner won another MVP in 2001, but the Rams were defeated by the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots in 2002 Super Bowl through a last minute Adam Vinatieri field goal. Although Warner’s last two years in St. Louis didn’t go the way he would have wanted them to, Warner put up the best single seasons of any Rams QB ever, making him #1 on this list.

The list is not over yet! See our selection for number 11 HERE. Sound off to let us know who we missed!