John Wolford went from finance to Jets to Super Bowl backup

John Wolford’s first NFL snap came in the 2018 preseason with the Jets. Now he’s getting ready for Super Bowl LVI.

It’s been quite the football journey for Wolford. He signed with the Jets three days after he accepted a job at North Carolina-based private equity firm Teall Capital in the summer of 2018 and played in one preseason game for Gang Green. Wolford played 39 minutes for New York against the Eagles but was released the following day on Sept. 4 after going 8-20 for 89 yards with one interception.

“I know it was brief, but I’ll look back and cherish that moment,” Wolford told ESPN in 2018. “Not a lot of people get to go out and play for the New York Jets. I’m working my ass off to get another shot to play for them, but that’s the way it goes. I’ll remember that time for the rest of my life.”

Wolford got another opportunity, just not in the NFL. He was taken in the second round of the inaugural Alliance of American Football draft in 2019 by the Arizona Hotshots. He completed 63.1 percent of his passes for 1,617 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions for them. The league folded after eight games, but Wolford signed with the Rams soon after.

He got a better shot in Los Angeles as Jared Goff’s backup. Wolford started the final game of the Rams’ 2020 season after Goff suffered a hand injury, helped clinched a playoff berth and became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 200 yards and rush for more than 50 yards in his…