The St. Louis Rams had another not-terrible season in which they missed the playoffs. Heading into the offseason, quarterback has been a big issue for them, and while they have Nick Foles signed on for two more years and plan to hold on to Case Keenum, the draft, maybe through trading up, could be where the solution to their problem is found.
Extending Nick Foles seems to have been a huge mistake by the Los Angeles Rams. Foles completed just 56.4% of his passes last season, threw just 7 touchdown passes and 10 interception. His first season under Chip Kelly seems to be something uncharacteristic and possibly a one-time thing. The Rams still have him on the books for 2016 and 2017, with a $8.75 million cap hit next season and a $13.25 million cap hit for 2017, although cutting him after next season won’t be very damaging to their cap situation (saving about $12.25 million).
Case Keenum s going to be a restricted free agent, and although the Rams intend to bring in at least one more quarterback, they plan on holding on to Keenum, an undrafted free agent in 2012. Keenum completed 60.8% of his passes in five games last season, throwing four touchdowns and one interception while posting a 87.7 passer rating. That’s not exactly hot, but it was better than Foles, and at least gives him a shot at winning the starting quarterback position through open preseason competition.
The draft? Rumors suggest the Rams, who select 15th (which probably puts them out of reach when it comes to Jared Goff and Carson Wentz by initial projections), are hoping to make a trade to take the number one pick away from the Tennessee Titans. Considering that pass rush and defensive line is their strongest suit, it’s not so they can land Joey Bosa out of Ohio State, the projected number one pick.
But not all first round quarterbacks turn into franchise guys. Sometimes doing the right kind of homework, doing the right kind of development work and maybe lucking out, lands you a Russell Wilson, who was a third round selection in the 2012 NFL draft and beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job in his first training camp. The Seahawks haven’t regretted it. Wilson is who Rams General Manager Les Snead has in mind going into the draft.
You definitely have to prepare that you might do it. Sometimes with QBs we’ve seen some very successful ones go in the second round, and the third round seems to be hot of late. I’m thinking of Russell Wilson. I’m thinking of Kirk Cousins. We’ll definitely scout QBs, and we’ll definitely look at the trade market and free-agent market.