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LA Rams plan to have QB competition heading into '16

Les Snead said Tuesday that the Rams are planning to have all three of the quarterbacks on their current roster – Foles, Case Keenum and Sean Mannion – as well as any potential offseason additions battle for the starting spot.


Nick Foles, Case Keenum and Sean Mannion will battle for No. 1 spot in Los Angeles.

By Alex Marvez

Jan 26, 2016 at 9:00p ET
MOBILE, Ala. -- Les Snead wouldn't say the Los Angeles Rams have buyer's remorse about trading for Nick Foles.

However, there is something that the general manager does regret about the 2015 season – and it's a mistake he doesn't plan for the franchise to make again.

Snead said Tuesday that the Rams are planning to have all three of the quarterbacks on their current roster --€“ Foles, Case Keenum and Sean Mannion --€“ as well as any potential offseason additions battle for the starting spot. Last year, the Rams designated Foles their starter after acquiring him and a 2016 second-round draft pick in a trade with Philadelphia for Sam Bradford.

"If I learned one thing last year we should have let the quarterbacks have a competition from the start and the best man win instead of just passing the torch to Nick," Snead told co-host Mark Dominik and me on SiriusXM NFL Radio at the Reese's Senior Bowl.

Foles was impressive enough upon his arrival that the Rams signed him during the preseason to a two-year, $24.5 million contract extension that included $13.7 million guaranteed. Foles, though, struggled to the point that he was benched for the final four games in favor of Keenum as the Rams (7-9) finished without a winning record for the 12th consecutive season.

Snead said the body of work Foles compiled during two seasons with the Eagles prompted his early designation as the Rams' first-stringer.

"He obviously had a lot of success at Philly and it was proven so we brought him in," said Snead, referring to Foles' 15-9 starting record with Philadelphia in 2013 and 2014. "As you go through things with a new quarterback and he's learning a new system there's going to be some growing pains whether it's in OTAs or training camp.

"You saw that a little bit but, hey, we open up and beat Seattle and went to Arizona and won. He did some good things for us. We just ran into a slump there in the middle of the year."

Snead also defended Foles and the play of the team's other quarterbacks by pointing to mitigating factors. One of them was having a first-time offensive coordinator (Frank Cignetti Jr.) who was fired before the season ended. Another was disappointing play from the Rams' receiving corps.

In particular, Snead cited the Rams' 19-16 loss at San Francisco in the season-finale.

"We had a chance to win four straight at the end of the year. Every wide receiver that dressed out dropped one ball that day. You can't have that," said Snead, whose team will have a new wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator next season in Mike Groh.

"I think Nick's season would have been better and coach Cignetti's season would have been better and even Case's last game would have been better had those guys stepped up."

This is just a hunch, I think Snead is assuming more responsibility for the personnel and the draft. I think Fisher is getting one more year, but Snead may get more since I think he has done a better job than Fisher. And I think Kroenke and Demoff see it that way.

I find it interesting that Fisher isn't in Mobile this week while Snead is making negative comments about how the team was run.

Clearly, the Rams have botched the QB position under Fisher's control. My guess is Fisher isn't calling the shots on the QB this year. I think it's Snead's call. Just my gut feeling.

I agree max, and when the talking heads start talking about which HC is "on the hot seat", Fisher will be on it.

As the QB's go, I thought it was stupid to extend Foles' contract before he ever took the field. Now they're stuck with him. Keenum is backup at best, and Mannion is green behind the ears, but probably has the best skill set of the three, and the best pure passer who can make all the throws. His drawback is he has no clue about reading NFL defenses. I'm anxious to see how he performs. I saw him in college and he looked good at times. Rams need to know what they have in Mannion. I doubt the try and move up to draft a QB. They're going to go with what they have.

I don't think they'll go with what they have.

I don't believe Snead thinks what they have is good enough. And my guess is that he is under orders from Kroenke to solve the QB issue. Now that they are back in LA, the next order of business for Kroenke is to put an entertaining winner on the field. It's too risky to expect that to happen by staying pat.

They will add a QB, whether it be by trade, FA, or draft. Maybe even 2.

max wrote:I don't think they'll go with what they have.

I don't believe Snead thinks what they have is good enough. And my guess is that he is under orders from Kroenke to solve the QB issue. Now that they are back in LA, the next order of business for Kroenke is to put an entertaining winner on the field. It's too risky to expect that to happen by staying pat.

They will add a QB, whether it be by trade, FA, or draft. Maybe even 2.

I totally agree that Kroenke and Demoff have given orders to solve the QB problem. And I sure hope you're right about giving Snead more control over finding this solution, because Jeff has certainly botched it..

Wow.

Stranger wrote:

max wrote:I don't think they'll go with what they have.

I don't believe Snead thinks what they have is good enough. And my guess is that he is under orders from Kroenke to solve the QB issue. Now that they are back in LA, the next order of business for Kroenke is to put an entertaining winner on the field. It's too risky to expect that to happen by staying pat.

They will add a QB, whether it be by trade, FA, or draft. Maybe even 2.

I totally agree that Kroenke and Demoff have given orders to solve the QB problem. And I sure hope you're right about giving Snead more control over finding this solution, because Jeff has certainly botched it..

Of course, I'm guessing. Hopefully it's an educated guess.

It would be hard for me to think Kroenke and Demoff aren't concerned about what they've really got in Fisher. The poor numbers and the terrible offensive performances can't all be swept aside due to bad luck.

I've seen enough from Fisher to believe he's not the answer. I do think Snead deserves an opportunity to solve the QB problem without Fisher determining the picks.

Snead deserves an at bat, if he strikes out then he's out the door with Fisher. If he gets a hit then he stays long term, regardless of what Fisher does. That's what I would do, fwiw.

I also agree that something is different with Fisher not at the Senior Bowl. Not a stretch to assume it is due to the poor QB selections under Snisher.
Of course Fisher might be busy doing that other thing he was hired for. Relocating. But 1 or 2 days shouldn't derail that effort so I look upon this as a good sign unless they are only looking at defensive players. I'm certain Snead is looking at more than just QB's. But at least some will be looking at them.

"If I learned one thing last year we should have let the quarterbacks have a competition from the start and the best man win instead of just passing the torch to Nick,"
This quote angers me so much I cant see straight.