NFL Rumors: Los Angeles Rams likely to start Case Keenum Week 1

The Los Angeles Rams addressed their need at quarterback with the first overall pick this year, but there are clear indications Case Keenum will start under center Week 1.

The Los Angeles Rams are grabbing plenty of buzz with their move back west, and their upcoming presence on HBO “Hard Knocks” will only add to that. One of the franchise’s key figures, now and into the future, is 2016 No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. But he will not be handed anything entering his rookie season, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is the most recent to report Case Keenum has a “real chance” to be Los Angeles’ Week 1 starting quarterback.

Rams’ head coach Jeff Fisher said back in June that Keenum would enter training camp as the team’s starting quarterback, with Steve Wyche of NFL.com and ESPN’s Ed Werder further backing up that status since then. While it’s not unprecedented to give priority to a nondescript veteran quarterback over an unproven rookie at the start of the season, as the Philadelphia Eagles did with Doug Pederson and Donovan McNabb back in 1999, Rams’ fans are sure to be pining for Goff very quickly.

Fisher should be on the hot seat if the Rams don’t win more this season, and a good defense will keep them in plenty of games. Some spark still has to be found offensively. Even with a run-first approach centered on Todd Gurley, and even with just 16 regular season NFL games under his belt Keenum has shown no signs he is more than a serviceable backup.

Keenum may take the Rams’ first meaningful snap this year, in the nightcap of the annual Week 1 Monday night doubleheader against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 12. But as long as Goff is healthy and not a complete trainwreck, he should start at least 10 games during his rookie season.

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