Keenum’s late-season success in Houston comes as no surprise to Rams coach

Why Rams wanted Case Keenum back

By Tania Ganguli | ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/

PHOENIX — When the Houston Texans were in dire need of a quarterback, they went back to an old well.

Case Keenum, sitting on the St. Louis Rams practice squad, proved to be just what they needed — a quarterback familiar with their offense who could manage it well enough for the Texans to win their final two games. Keenum’s performance impressed the Texans, but not enough to keep them from signing both Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer in free agency. They then traded Keenum to the Rams, gaining a seventh-round pick and giving Keenum a chance with a team that had a less crowded quarterback room.

Here’s what Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Wednesday of Keenum:

“We really liked Case and he was making progress. He didn’t get the opportunity I think he would have liked from a practice standpoint because he was our third and usually the third doesn’t get [reps] but he’d stay out after every practice and worked. But when Rick [Smith, Texans GM] called [during the season], obviously they needed a quarterback and it became difficult on them and he knew the system and Case was really going back to an offensive system that you could plug [him] in and play right away. So the season is over and we gave him a call.”

Was he surprised Keenum won two games at end of year?

“Wasn’t surprised at all,” Fisher said.

Why Rams brought Case Keenum back

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17418/why-rams-brought-case-keenum-back

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Of the many moves the St. Louis Rams made in a dizzying few days to open free agency, perhaps none was as strange as the team’s decision to trade a future draft pick for a quarterback that was on the team’s roster as recently as December of last year.

Lost amid the hoopla of the big trade the Rams made with the Philadelphia Eagles in which they sent Sam Bradford east in exchange for Nick Foles was the subsequent deal in which they sent the Houston Texans a seventh-round pick in 2016 for quarterback Case Keenum.

Yes, the same Keenum who came to the Rams on waivers at the end of training camp after the Texans released him. From there, Keenum was the backup to Shaun Hill and Austin Davis for the first couple of months of the season but when the Rams traded for safety Mark Barron on Oct. 28, they released Keenum to create a roster spot. Keenum then re-signed with the Rams on the practice squad, where he languished for most of the season.

Along the way, Keenum never really got much of a chance to prove himself in practice as Hill and Davis got most of the repetitions. But as Keenum stayed after practice to get extra work, the Rams took notice.

“We really liked Case and he was making progress,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He didn’t get the opportunity I think he would have liked from a practice standpoint because he was our third and usually the third doesn’t get [reps] but he’d stay out after every practice and worked.”

Meanwhile, back in Houston, the Texans were ravaged by injuries at quarterback as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mallett were lost for the season within weeks of each other. In search of a quarterback who knew the system and the team, Texans general manager Rick Smith turned to Keenum.

“But when Rick called, obviously they needed a quarterback and it became difficult on them and he knew the system and Case was really going back to an offensive system that you could plug [him] in and play right away,” Fisher said. “So the season is over and we gave them a call.”

While the Rams were busy re-configuring their quarterback depth, the Texans were doing the same. They re-signed Mallett and added veteran Brian Hoyer to compete for the starting job. That’s in addition to the return of second-year prospect Tom Savage. Keenum, an exclusive-rights free agent, didn’t have much of a future in Houston but might have drawn some interest had the Texans chosen not to tender him.

So the Rams called with the idea that Keenum would get a better opportunity over the course of a full offseason. According to Fisher, that’s exactly what the plan is.

“Austin is still in our plans,” Fisher said. “He’s still going to come in and compete. We’re going to let Austin and Case come in and compete for the that two [spot]. That’s our plan right now.”