It’s too early to be naming starting quarterbacks for the 2016 season, but Case Keenum should feel pretty good about what he heard from Rams coach Jeff Fisher on Monday.
Fisher said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, that Keenum will head into the offseason as the team’s starter after replacing Nick Foles in that role during the regular season. Keenum is on track to be a restricted free agent, so the team will presumably be tendering him a contract if they aren’t able to agree on a deal before the deadline.
As for Foles, Fisher said the plan is to give him a chance to compete for the job but that the team will also take a look at outside options at the position once the offseason gets going. Foles is due a $6 million roster bonus in March and is set to make $1.75 million in base salary as part of the extension he signed with the Rams after being acquired in a trade for Sam Bradford. That’s a deal the Rams may regret now that they’ve seen Foles in action, but it isn’t one they can get out of without a big cap hit.
Whoever winds up under center and wherever the Rams are playing come September, the team needs to get more out of their passing offense than they have during the last three seasons. The Rams were last in the league in passing yards this year and their No. 18 ranking in 2012 is their best ranking since Fisher has been on the sideline.