Rams approach fork in the road on when Jared Goff should step in at quarterback

By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST

On the final practice before the Rams broke for their bye week, rookie quarterback Jared Goff took the majority of snaps with the first-team offense.

Without the benefit of actual game action to assess Goff’s progress, his extended work against the Rams front-line defense last Wednesday opened a window into just how far he’s come since the end of training camp.

Coupled with the Rams’ plunge in the standings – should it continue against the Carolina Panthers – the progress Goff showed may have created a new timeline from which they finally decide to get him on the field.

What we have, essentially, is a franchise rapidly approaching a crossroads in which present and future objectives will meet.

And Case Keenum, the incumbent starter, appears more aware than ever of the looming fork in the road.

Keenum spoke recently about being the starter “this week” and how he’s taking things “a week at a time.”

It’s the first time all season Keenum has referred to his hold on the starting job in such tenuous terms. That it comes during a three-game losing streak – and immediately after he threw four interceptions in a frustrating loss to the New York Giants – is striking.

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