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Why Aren’t the St. Louis Rams Using Brian Quick?

By Patrick Karraker

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Many St. Louis Rams fans were extremely surprised as the Sunday inactives list was released in Week 1, as wide receiver Brian Quick was included among the scratches. While he missed much of the offseason program while recovering from a very serious shoulder injury, the 6-foot-3, 218-pounder had worked his way back during training camp and the late preseason, and he wasn’t listed on the injury report going into Week 1.

Things got really strange this past Sunday against Washington, when Quick was an inactive for the second straight week, basically signifying that he’s a healthy scratch, rather than his recovery process being the leading factor in the decision. On Monday evening, head coach Jeff Fisher confirmed as much on his weekly radio show, which was in turn relayed by in-house beat reporter Myles Simmons:

"HC Fisher says on his radio show that Brian Quick’s situation has to do with STs numbers.— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) September 22, 2015"

Quick, who looked poised to become the Rams’ first 1,000-yard receiver since 2007 before suffering a torn rotator cuff and dislocated shoulder in the Rams’ seventh game, has had a catastrophic fall from where he was a year ago. After being a starter at the outset of 2014, Quick is now behind his mentor and former fellow starter Kenny Britt, the emergent and versatile Stedman Bailey, jack-of-all-trades Tavon Austin, and the team’s longest tenured wideout, Chris Givens, on the depth chart. In addition, undrafted rookie Bradley Marquez has developed into one of the team’s most important special-teamers and has four tackles in the kicking game through the first couple weeks. In the Rams’ run-heavy offense, there’s virtually no scenario where they would ever need a fifth receiver, but if they do, Marquez could fill the role in a pinch.

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So in effect, Quick seems to have lost his spot (for the moment) to Givens, a one-trick pony who extended his grip on a roster spot to four seasons by having a spectacular preseason in which he scored two long touchdowns. As good as Givens was during those exhibition games, though, it seems nonsensical to have him active ahead of Quick, who was such a powerful and multi-dimensional receiving threat a year ago. In addition to being the Rams’ most physical and arguably most athletic wideout, Quick had built up his skills to the point where he had 25 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns through seven games. Quick must have lost a step to still be behind Givens, who has one catch for seven yards through the first two weeks this season.

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Of course, there’s also the possibility that Quick is having trouble learning a slightly modified offense this year. The Appalachian State product seemed to have trouble grasping the Rams’ philosophy, even with three years under the same offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer. Only in his third year did Quick, who had 458 yards combined through his first two seasons, really seem to get the hang of things. The changes couldn’t have been too drastic this year since the Rams’ new coordinator, Frank Cignetti, was with the team as the quarterbacks coach ever since 2012, but any adjustment has a tradeoff: the possibility that a slower-learning player like Quick will have difficulty picking it up.

With the lack of positional flexibility that the Rams have at certain spots–just three tight ends, all of whom are used regularly, only seven healthy defensive linemen, and four cornerbacks, all of whom play from scrimmage–it would seem that Quick would face the possibility of becoming expendable if he doesn’t earn his spot back soon. The Rams parted ways with their sixth receiver, Austin Pettis, during the early part of last season when he yielded his roster spot to Givens. While he very well may be their most physically-talented receiver, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team end up doing the same with Quick at some point (though they could probably bring back some sort of return in a trade for him, provided that his medical reports aren’t terrible). That’d be a difficult thing for this Rams administration, which values their early draft picks so highly, to do, but if a front office decides that a player can’t contribute to the betterment of the team (especially in his fourth season), they have a duty to get rid of him, and that decision may soon be coming with Quick.

Next: Rams Fall to Redskins 24-10 After Lackluster Performance

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