Mort & Schefter On Norv Turner, C-Mike, Rams
After stepping down as Vikings offensive coordinator, Norv Turner is not looking for work at this moment. However, he is still interested in coaching, according to Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. Once his Vikings contract runs out this winter, Turner would like the opportunity to help mold an up-and-coming quarterback.
“I just enjoy it too much,” Turner said. “I really enjoy teaching the players.”
Turner says he’ll only return to the sidelines for the right opportunity or, as Schefter and Mortensen put it, “the right team in the right city with the right quarterback.” Given the Vikings’ offensive struggles under Turner, he is probably a stronger candidate as a quarterbacks coach than an offensive coordinator. Turner has had several stops as an OC in the NFL, but serving as strictly a QB coach at the professional level would be a first for him. The only time he ever held that title was with USC from 1981-1983.
Here’s more from Mortensen and Schefter:
- Christine Michael‘s release was about his regression as a runner and also a statement about the Seahawks‘ confidence in rookie C.J. Prosise, Mortensen writes. At Notre Dame, there were doubts about Prosise’s ability to grind out tough yards because of his soft-spoken personality. However, the Seahawks saw a warrior underneath his reserved demeanor and had enough faith to use a third-round pick on him. Going forward, Mortensen writes that Prosise is expected to be the main ball carrier with Thomas Rawls eased back into action.
- Case Keenum will move into a backup role behind No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff, but it’s actually possible that he’s bumped all the way down to No. 3 and made inactive on gamedays if the Rams fall out of the playoff hunt. Keenum is headed for free agency at the end of the year and L.A. will likely want to gauge what they have in Sean Mannion, a 2015 third-round choice.
- There has been a lot of talk about Oklahoma defensive tackle Charles Walker and his controversial decision to leave the team in advance of the 2017 NFL Draft. The popular view is that NFL teams will not look favorably upon Walker’s decision to abandon the Sooners, causing him to slide in the draft. However, Mortensen isn’t certain that clubs will concur with Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops‘ framing of the situation. Walker suffered the third reported concussion of his career in early October and cutting his season short may benefit him on multiple levels. From a talent perspective, Walker is viewed as a first- or second-round pick for the spring.
Rams To Start Jared Goff
The future is now in Los Angeles. The Rams are starting Jared Goff on Sunday, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The team informed Goff and previous starter Case Keenum in a meeting this morning. 
Over the weekend, it was reported that Keenum would likely be given the hook if he struggled against the Jets on Sunday. After the 9-6 victory, coach Jeff Fisher refused to blame Keenum for the unproductive offensive showing.
“I don’t believe it’s the quarterback play,” Fisher said. “I think it’s collectively. It’s always a possibility when [Goff’s] time comes. But I thought Case did a nice job.”
Keenum didn’t throw any interceptions against Gang Green, but he also didn’t throw any touchdowns. Even though Fisher did not hammer Keenum for his play, it appears that the team is not content with treading water at the QB position. Goff is green, but it’s not as though Keenum has been setting the world on fire with his play. The Rams will turn it over to the No. 1 overall pick with an eye on winning this season and evaluating their future.
Goff’s first test comes against the Dolphins who have rebounded from a 1-4 start with a four game winning streak. They are now above the .500 mark, though they have allowed 364.3 yards per game to opposing offenses. In terms of pass defense, Miami has surrendered only 235.6 yards per game, which actually puts them in the top ten.
Photo via PFR on Instagram.
Jared Goff Could Start Next Week
We heard just last week that Rams rookie signal-caller Jared Goff was unlikely to start a game in the near future, or at least until the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention. Head coach Jeff Fisher implied that Goff was simply not ready to be thrust into game action, and as poorly as incumbent starter Case Keenum has played, it seemed as if his job would be safe for a few more weeks.
Today, however, ESPN’s Adam Schefter passes along a rather different report. Per Schefter, if Keenum struggles this week against the Jets, Los Angeles could give Goff the nod as early as next week’s matchup with the Dolphins. The Rams are hosting Miami next week, and LA wants to give Goff his first start at home in front of a friendly and supportive crowd. The decision has not been set in stone, and Keenum can apparently hang on to the starting job if he performs well against the Jets.
The odds of that, however, seem slim. In his second season with the Rams, who sit at 3-5 as losers of four straight, Keenum has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,004 yards, with nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions in eight games. He ranks last in the league in Total QBR (39.6) among qualified starters.
Those struggles have understandably led to calls for Goff, this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, to get his shot. Several weeks ago, reports indicated that Goff had made progress in terms of learning the offense, and now he may get a chance to show what he has learned on a national stage.
Jared Goff Unlikely To Start In Near Future
Speaking to the media today, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher announced that Case Keenum will remain the club’s starting quarterback, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Moreover, first overall pick Jared Goff is unlikely to start for Los Angeles until the team is eliminated from postseason contention, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
[RELATED: Los Angeles Rams Depth Chart]
“I know everybody wants to talk about it, and that’s the big question,” said Fisher. “Again, he’s going to play. Whether it’s the following week, or the following week, or what have you. It’s eventually going to happen. But big picture, as I keep saying, this is about making sure he’s ready to go out there and be sharp and give us a chance to win. The quarterback position is not easy.”
The Rams won’t turn to Goff barring an “epic collapse” from Keenum, according to Rapoport, although it could be argued that Keenum’s four interception game against the Giants in Week 8 was just that. Keenum turned in another poor result on Sunday, completing only 27 of 46 attempts for 296 yards, one touchdown, and one interception as Los Angeles fell to Carolina. For the season, Keenum has completed 61.5% of his passes for nine scores and 11 interceptions.
At 3-5, the Rams aren’t particularly close to falling out of playoff contention — they currently sit behind the Seahawks (4-2-1 heading into tonight’s game) and the Cardinals (3-4-1) in the NFC West. But their chances are certainly slim, as Football Outsiders gave Los Angeles only a 10.7% chance of making the postseason before yesterday’s loss. Still, it doesn’t appear as though Goff is set to enter the starting lineup any time soon.
Rams Sticking With Case Keenum At QB
The Rams won’t make a quarterback change despite Case Keenum‘s poor performance against the Lions in London today, head coach Jeff Fisher told reporters after the game, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com (Twitter links). In fact, Fisher said he was more likely to alter his receiving corps than make a switch at QB.
[RELATED: Los Angeles Rams Depth Chart]
Keenum tossed four interceptions today against New York, including one on Los Angeles’ final offensive play as the club was attempting to drive and tie the game. An obvious miscommunication took place, as wide receiver Brian Quick broke off his route while Keenum threw the ball into the end zone and into the waiting arms of Giants defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Heading into today’s contest, Keenum had completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,417 yards, seven touchdowns, and six picks.
Having dropped three straight games, the Rams are now 3-4 and, pending the results of tonight’s game between the Seahawks and Cardinals, could be well behind Seattle in the NFC West. If Keenum continues to struggle, the calls for Los Angeles to play No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff will only get louder.
Rams’ Jared Goff Closing In On Starting Job
Rams quarterback Jared Goff was inactive for Week 1, but the first pick in this year’s draft took a step in the right direction when he served as Case Keenum‘s backup last Sunday. Now Goff is “close” to being ready to take the starting job from Keenum, head coach Jeff Fisher told John Clayton and Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM on Friday.
“There’s still a gap between he and Case right now,” said Fisher. “Everything that Case does, the familiarity with the offense, but he’s closing the gap and he’ll get in there, get his reps and make his plays, make the great throws that he’s capable of.”
The Rams are confident in Keenum, according to Fisher, but the 28-year-old has arguably been the worst quarterback in the NFL through the season’s first two weeks. Keenum has completed just 35 of 65 attempts for 369 yards and two interceptions, and the Rams have scored a paltry nine points – all of which came in their 9-3 upset over Seattle last Sunday.
“We have a healthy quarterback right now in our starter and so we’re just going to bring Jared along,” added Fisher.
While Goff is “improving,” per Fisher, it’s fair to say the ex-Cal star hasn’t developed as quickly as the Rams hoped he would when they traded up to draft him. General manager Les Snead sent several eminently valuable picks – including first-rounders this year and next – to the Titans to secure Goff, who became the first quarterback to go No. 1 overall and not start the opener of his rookie season since the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in 2007. He also began the year behind 2015 third-rounder Sean Mannion on Los Angeles’ depth chart.
Unlike the 21-year-old Goff, three signal-callers from this year’s draft – Carson Wentz (Eagles), Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Jacoby Brissett (Patriots) – have already started at least one game, while Browns third-rounder Cody Kessler will join the group this week. Fisher downplayed their relevance to Goff’s situation, however.
“Had this chain of events not happened — had (Dallas’ Tony) Romo not gotten hurt and (Minnesota’s) Teddy (Bridgewater) not gotten hurt and Sam (Bradford) stayed at Philly and then (Cleveland’s) RGIII not gotten hurt — we wouldn’t have any rookie quarterbacks playing,” he said.
Injuries have indeed opened doors for each rookie starter this year, but as the draft’s top two picks, Goff and Wentz will always draw comparisons. Thus far, Wentz is winning the battle. The former North Dakota State standout has connected on 43 of 71 attempts for 468 yards and three scores while helping the Eagles to a 2-0 start.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Potential Jeff Fisher Extension
Thanks to the Rams’ season-opening debacle on Monday, head coach Jeff Fisher‘s future with the team looks less certain. Fisher and owner Stan Kroenke met after the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, who adds that the contract extension Fisher was supposed to receive isn’t in play at the moment (video link).
Various reports since the winter have stated that Fisher and general manager Les Snead, both of whom are in contract years, are likely to sign new deals. Fisher took over the Rams’ sideline in 2012 and is among the NFL’s highest-paid coaches at $7MM, but the former Titans boss hasn’t produced positive results with his current organization. Under Fisher, the Rams have gone 27-37-1 in four-plus years and haven’t exceeded seven wins in an individual campaign, thereby stretching their streak of non-playoff seasons to 12. The way the Rams looked Monday, the newly minted Los Angeles team is on its way to No. 13.
One major problem for the Rams in Week 1 was the performance of quarterback Case Keenum, who completed 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions against a San Francisco club that went 5-11 a year ago. Fisher will go forth with Keenum for the time being, but other coaches on the Rams’ staff feel first overall pick Jared Goff gives them a better chance to win, per Cole (video link).
Keenum beat out both Goff and Sean Mannion for the starting role over the summer, making Goff the first QB to go No. 1 and not start his team’s opener since the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in 2007. Worsening matters, Goff didn’t show enough progress during training camp and the preseason to even earn a spot on the Rams’ active roster Monday, but the ex-Cal standout could suit up as a reserve against the Seahawks in their LA opener this week.
To acquire the pick with which he chose Goff, Snead surrendered several valuable selections – including first-rounders in 2016 and 2017 and multiple second-rounders – to the Titans. If Goff doesn’t take the field this year and at least show flashes of a player who was worth that type of haul, then, it stands to reason Snead could join Fisher on the the hot seat. The Rams looked like the worst team in the league in Week 1, and that’s particularly troubling for a franchise that’s not in possession of its own first-rounder in next year’s draft.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rams, Broncos Discussed Case Keenum Trade
Denver and Los Angeles engaged in trade talks centering on Rams quarterback Case Keenum during the preseason, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. No deal came to fruition, of course, as the Broncos ultimately didn’t come up with an offer appealing enough to convince the Rams to trade the 28-year-old (Twitter links).
The reigning champion Broncos, who open their season tonight in a Super Bowl rematch with Carolina, ended up naming second-year man Trevor Siemian their starting quarterback to replace the retired Peyton Manning. That came after Siemian beat out the since-released Mark Sanchez, now with the Cowboys, and first-round rookie Paxton Lynch for the job.
Siemian, a seventh-rounder from Northwestern, hasn’t yet attempted a regular-season pass. Keenum, on the other hand, has thrown 455 in a combined 16 games with the Texans and Rams, completing an unimpressive 56.7 percent of attempts to go with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
After a respectable six-game showing last season, the Broncos had interest in Keenum over the winter, but the Rams’ decision to tender the restricted free agent at a first-round price led Denver to look elsewhere. Despite that, Keenum hardly looked like a shoo-in for Los Angeles’ starting job after it sent a massive haul to the Titans to acquire the first pick, with which the Rams chose ex-California signal-caller Jared Goff. However, the 21-year-old didn’t show enough progress during the summer to beat out either Keenum for the starting role or Sean Mannion for the No. 2 spot, so he’ll begin the season inactive.
As the Rams wait for Goff to get up to speed, Keenum will try to do enough to remain at the helm and help them snap their 11-year playoff drought in their return to LA.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Case Keenum Signs RFA Tender With Rams
The only player to be tendered at a first-round level this offseason, Rams quarterback Case Keenum, has officially signed his RFA tender, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The transaction doesn’t come as a surprise, since the first-round tender made it extremely unlikely that Keenum would get an offer sheet.
By assigning him a high-end tender worth $3.635MM, rather than the second-round tender ($2.553MM) or the right-of-first-refusal tender ($1.671MM), the Rams ensured that any team attempting to poach Keenum would have to be willing to send a first-round pick to Los Angeles to do so.
Keenum, 28, took over as the Rams’ starter last season after Nick Foles was benched — he went on to start five games, completing nearly 61% of his passes for 828 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.
Keenum’s solid 2015 performance had head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead talking this offseason as if he would head into the 2016 season as the team’s starting quarterback. Now that the club has acquired the first overall pick in the draft though, Keenum’s role looks a little less certain.
With Keenum, Foles, 2015 third-rounder Sean Mannion, and either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz all potentially in the mix at quarterback, the Rams will almost certainly have to trade or release at least one signal-caller before the season gets underway. While it’s possible that Keenum will be dealt, the Rams like him enough – and he’s cheap enough – that it would make sense to keep him around to compete for the starting job or to back up the No. 1 pick. Foles appears to be more expendable for now.
Still, now that Keenum has signed his RFA tender, he’s eligible to be traded, if the Rams do get an offer they like. A report last week suggested that the Broncos might have some interest in Keenum.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Rumors: Broncos, Keenum, Rams, Foles
With the Rams poised to use their newly-acquired No. 1 pick to select a quarterback, the Broncos might have some interest in Case Keenum, who had been in line to be the starter in Los Angeles, tweets Mike Klis of 9NEWS. Troy Renck of the Denver Post adds (via Twitter) that the Broncos had some interest in Keenum before the Rams placed a first-round RFA tender on the QB.
Even if the Broncos are interested in working out a deal for Keenum, it’s not clear if the Rams would be on board. With Carson Wentz or Jared Goff joining the team, the depth chart at QB will certainly be crowded, with the rookie joining Keenum, Sean Mannion, and Nick Foles. However, the Rams like Keenum enough that they may prefer to explore a deal involving Foles or Mannion.
In fact, when Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk asked Rams head coach Jeff Fisher whether Foles will be on the team’s regular-season roster in 2016, Fisher was noncommittal, but called it a “good question,” hinting that the former Eagle could be the odd man out.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions, including a few more Rams-related notes:
- Rams general manager Les Snead said today during an appearance on ESPN Radio that his team is “97% sure” about which player will be the first overall pick, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.
- As part of the trade for the No. 1 pick, the Rams agreed to send a 2017 third-round pick to the Titans. According to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com, that third-rounder will be a compensatory pick, since those comp picks can be traded beginning in 2017, and the Rams expect to get one for losing Janoris Jenkins. If L.A. doesn’t get a third-round comp pick, the team will send its own pick to Tennessee, and get a 2017 seventh-rounder back from the Titans.
- The Broncos are expected to re-sign free agent safety Shiloh Keo when their offseason program gets underway next week, reports Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post (via Twitter). Keo, who signed in Denver last December, was arrested for driving under the influence in February.
- The Rams hosted Iowa tight end Henry Krieger-Coble for a pre-draft visit today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- While the Chargers are viewed as a near-lock to select Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil if he’s on the board at No. 3, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains why Tunsil may be a bit of a “messy fit” in San Diego. Gehlken makes some good points, but given the Chargers’ offensive line woes in recent years, it would still be a surprise if they pass on the draft’s top tackle.