St. Louis Rams: A Super Early 53-Man Roster Projection

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks (3): Nick Foles, Sean Mannion, Case Keenum

Throw the fact that this front office kept just two quarterbacks for the majority of 2013 and 2014 out the window. Now that the Rams have a legitimate developmental quarterback in Sean Mannion, they’ll almost keep three in 2015. Though two of Mannion’s strengths were his prior experience in a pro-style offense and an ability to absorb information quickly, it would be good for the coaching staff to work with him on his pocket presence and throwing mechanics during his rookie season.

Thus, it makes sense for the team to carry at least one of their quarterbacks with substantial starting experience, either Austin Davis or Case Keenum, as Nick Foles’s primary backup, and if they can somehow find roster space to do so, it really wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to keep both, especially considering Foles’s injury history in the NFL.

Keenum seems to have a slight edge right now considering that he finished the season well as a starter for the Houston Texans, the Rams were able to give up a draft pick for him (even if it was just a conditional seventh-rounder), and he hasn’t yet experienced failure as a starter in St. Louis like Davis has. The two are nearly identical in terms of their backgrounds: both were slightly undersized Conference USA quarterbacks who experienced remarkable college success but went undrafted in 2012, then earned starting jobs after initially being released by the teams that signed them coming out of college. It’s highly unlikely that either Keenum or Davis has what it takes to lead a team to the Super Bowl, but they’ve both been able to keep the ship in order as starters, and both could likely keep things under control if Foles were to go down during 2015.

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