It’s clear after ten games that Nick Foles is not the quarterback of the future for the St. Louis Rams. Foles was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles for oft-injured Sam Bradford, then quickly signed to a two-year deal worth $24.5 million. However, in the NFL, contracts aren’t worth the paper they are written on. The now-benched Rams signal caller will receive his $14 million in guaranteed money and likely be punted off the Poplar Street Bridge like Baxter.
Foles was given every opportunity to be the man to finally lead the Rams back to the playoffs, but he continuously missed open wide receivers like Shaquille O’Neal shooting free throws. He was Tim Tebow without the running skills. Jeff Fisher and the Rams were apparently so cool on Foles, that they opted to let an obviously concussed Case Keenum be literally dragged to his feet for a play instead of allowing Foles back onto the football field.
I won’t go in on Foles too hard, as Palmer Alexander III covered that in his column last week. Still, it’s interesting to pontificate who might be the man under the center for the Rams next center.
Peyton Manning – Manning has looked like a man on his last legs so far in Denver. Numerous sources reported that the Broncos actually attempted to deal Manning for a sixth-round draft pick earlier in the season. For now, Manning is sidelined with a foot injury but his backup, Brock Osweiler, is probably one or two solid starts away from cuffing Manning’s job. Even if Manning comes back healthy and turns around his so-so season, the writing is on the wall. His days in Denver are numbered. In QB-starved St. Louis, he would be treated like a god.
Manning has reportedly told teammates he plans to suit up again in 2016. The question is whether he would consider the St. Louis Rams as a destination. Your gut reaction is probably heck no, but STL could be the perfect landing spot. There’s a very strong defense, which means a turnaround is possible with a good quarterback. Also working in the Rams favor is the fact that most surefire playoff-bound teams already have established QBs and would not want to take a risk on Manning as a one-year rental. The biggest obstacle is the Rams inadequate offensive line and awful receivers.
Kirk Cousins – The Washington Redskins quarterback will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2015 season. Coach Jay Gruden has made it clear that he would like the organization to work out and extension with his signal caller, but thus far, that has not happened. Part of the reason is because of Cousins’ staggering inconsistency. Cousins can look like Joe Montana one game (324 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT vs the Saints) and French Montana the next (207 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 FUM).
If Cousins does reach the free agent market, he’ll be in high demand. St. Louis line troubles and lack of capable receivers and relocation saga make the club a longshot to land the QB. However, if the front office throws a large enough pile of cash, you never know what could happen. Stealing cousins away from Washington would be another slap in the face of that organization after pillaging the franchise for draft picks so they could draft mega bust Robert Griffin III.
Colin Kaepernick – It’s unlikely for a QB to switch to a new team in the same division, but not impossible. Former Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe was shipped to the Buffalo Bills after Tom Brady snatched his starting spot in New England. It’s clear that Kaepernick is done in San Francisco. He was benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert even before it was discovered that he needed shoulder surgery. In eight starts, Kaepernick averaged just 202 passing yards per game. That’s only 16 yards more than Foles, but Kaepernick also racked up 32 yards rushing each week.
While Kaepernick is certainly not the most accurate QB in the world, his skill set could make him useful in a run-first Jeff Fisher system. That’s assuming that Fisher will be back in charge next season, which is far from a given.
Sean Mannion – The Rams drafted Mannion for a reason this summer. It was thought the former Oklahoma State QB could be potentially develop into a starting quarterback. Mannion has not been seen or heard from much since the preseason wrapped up. However, it’s that time of year when fans get antsy and start calling for the new guy. It happened last week with Keenum. Keenum’s concussion makes for an interesting decision by the St. Louis coaches. If he’s unable to go, does Fisher trust Foles enough to throw him back out on the field just a week after benching him? Or does he roll the dice, toss the unproven and untested kid a Bud Light and see if he’s “up for whatever?”
After the top two or three teams, the NFC is mired in mediocrity this season. That means that even with a 4-6 record, the Rams are still in the playoff hunt. If Keenum can’t go, best guess is Foles will be under center this week. However, with another loss or two, the Rams might toss Mannion in to see what they have in the youngster. If he plays well, he could earn the job for 2016.
Nick Foles – Yeah, I know I stated that Foles would likely be punted at the end of the season, but this is St. Louis after all. Though Foles’ contract extension is modest for a starting QB, it still represents dead money if the team cuts ties with him. Billionaire owner Stan Kroenke might very well be penny-pinching this offseason as he builds up his war chest for an attempted move to Los Angeles. If he doesn’t open the coffers for a quality starting QB and the team is unable to draft a franchise guy, Foles could return by default. He may have the blessing of a lifetime with Keenum’s head injury as he may get another chance to prove he deserves the starting job. Stranger things have happened. Fisher stood by Bradford for years, a few good games could buy Foles more time under center.
BONUS:
Johnny Hekker – Hey, Fisher loves to run the fake punt and historically Hekker, a former high school QB, has proven to be a fairly accurate passer. Hekker is one of the best punters in the game and one of the highest paid. The Rams might as well get a little more bang for their buck and let Hekker relive his high school glory days. Think about it, St. Louis watched Rick Ankiel transform from a pitcher into a position player as a Cardinal. Now we can watch Hekker pull double duty as a QB and a punter. Every time he gets sacked, the Rams would be awarded 15 yards for roughing the kicker. It’s the perfect diabolical plan. OK, obviously it will never happen. Maybe it should though. He couldn’t do any worse than the guys the Rams have been rolling out there the past several seasons and he’d certainly be much more exciting.
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