Rams Notes: Keenum will be the Rams starting QB; Goff is inactive

Case Keenum will be the Rams starting QB; Jared Goff is inactive for week 1

By Rich Hammond,


[www.dailynews.com]

The coaches have decided and the players have voted. The Rams have a quarterback plan for the first week. It’s not one that most thought probable a few months ago, but it’s a plan nonetheless.

Case Keenum will start, as had been all but assured throughout training camp, and on Tuesday, Coach Jeff Fisher announced that teammates voted Keenum as one of their five team captains. And not only will rookie Jared Goff not start, he likely won’t even be in uniform for Monday’s opener at San Francisco.

Fisher strongly hinted last week that Sean Mannion, not Goff, would be his season-opening backup quarterback. Given that NFL teams can only activate 46 players for a game, dressing three quarterbacks makes little sense for most teams.

Fisher confirmed to NFL Network on Tuesday that Goff would not be a part of the plan for the San Francisco game, but left open the possibility that he could flip the quarterbacks for the second game, against Seattle, and have Goff as the backup and Mannion inactive.

“I just want (Goff) to feel and sense and absorb the pressures of week 1,” Fisher told the network. “He’s going to be a great player. As we’ve said from day one, we’re not rushing him. We don’t have to rush it. I’m really happy with where he is right now.

Goff, a Bay Area native and the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, took second-team reps throughout most of training camp but did get some time with the first-team offense. The results were mixed at best.

It’s believed that Carson Palmer was the last No. 1 overall pick not to suit up for his first possible NFL games. Palmer didn’t play at all in 2003, his rookie season with Cincinnati, but took over the following season and now is preparing to start his 14th NFL season.

Until 2011, NFL teams had 45-player game-day rosters but also were able to activate a third quarterback who didn’t count against that limit. Now, the roster is set at 46, and the third quarterback is not exempt.

TEAM LEADERS

At a Rams charity luncheon, at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, Fisher announced that Keenum, running back Todd Gurley, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, linebacker Alec Ogletree and punter Johnny Hekker would be team captains this season.

Fisher said he decided to have two offensive and defensive captains because the player vote was close.

Fisher did something similar last season, when he named quarterback Nick Foles, defensive end Robert Quinn, linebacker James Laurinaitis special-teamers Hekker and Daren Bates as captains.

MOVING ON

The Rams’ hopes of bringing back linebacker Akeem Ayers ended when Ayers signed with Indianapolis.

Ayers, surprisingly, had his contract terminated by the Rams on Saturday as part of the team’s final round of roster cuts. Fisher indicated on Sunday that the Rams hoped to sign Ayers to a renegotiated contract.

The Rams likely will turn to a rookie — either Josh Forrest or Nicholas Grigsby — to start at outside linebacker next to Ogletree and outside linebacker Mark Barron.

THINKING BIG

The analytics website ProFootballFocus.com ranked all 32 sets of NFL receivers this week, and the Rams finished last. That can’t be a big surprise, given that the Rams (statistically) had the NFL’s worst pass game last season and added only rookie Pharoh Cooper as an upgrade.

Despite an uneven effort in preseason games, Rams receivers believe they’re being underestimated.

“We’re definitely excited,” receiver Tavon Austin said. “There’s a lot of things that have been said. ‘The Rams don’t have any receivers,’ things like that. … We were 32(nd) in receiving last year. We’re going to change that. That’s the mindset we have, how we come to work, and hopefully we can come out on top.”

DAY OFF

The Rams held a closed practice Tuesday, won’t practice Wednesday, then return to the field on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to complete preparations for Monday’s opener.