Rams get QB Case Keenum

OK, who did they let go to get him?

So Mallet is worse than Fitzpatrick and better than Keenum…. talk about a tight window!

Wow, Keenum looked really good in that video. Only 26 too. He and Bradford are about the same age. So there is your competition in training camp next Summer. But Garret Gilbert is on the Practice Squad. Looks to me like the Rams have some good depth now at QB with Keenum, Davis and Gilbert. I think it is better to have Hill as the back up who can come in and play in a pinch if the starter gets hurt.

I think Bradford has to renegotiate and sign maybe a one year or two year deal. He has to prove he can stay on the field and play. Then he can go for the big bucks again. I think next season it will be Bradford and Keenum as the one and the two.

Grits

Updated: Rams claim QB Keenum off waivers from Houston
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/updated-rams-claim-qb-keenum-off-waivers-from-houston/article_28e56a10-82df-5a9b-bf64-6b27cda23606.html

The Rams have claimed quarterback Case Keenum off waivers from the Houston Texans.

Keenum, a second-year player from the University of Houston, become odd man out after the Texans traded with New England for Ryan Mallett.

Keenum, 26, started eight games last season for the Texans, completing 137 of 253 passes (54.2 percent) for 1,760 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. His passer rating was 78.2.

At the University of Houston, Keenum set NCAA career records for passing yards, touchdowns, and completions.

But undersized at 6-1, 205, he went undrafted, signing with the Texans in 2012 and spending the year on the practice squad.

About an hour after learning they had been awarded Keenum, the Rams placed tight end Justice Cunningham on the injured reserve list. Cunningham suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason finale against Miami, and was expected to miss at least a month.

The Rams were heavy at tight ends with five on the initial cut to 53 Saturday.

TSRF wrote:

Thanks. Makes sense.

Is it the “IR done for the year” or the “IR may come back soon”?

It is unlikely the come back soon IR since a team can use that only once. Best held for a starter.

I liked what I saw from Keenum in that video but Andre Johnson is simply unreal.

Case Keenum joins Rams’ quarterback carousel
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/case-keenum-joins-rams-quarterback-carousel/article_68d88336-4607-5877-beff-218102b04481.html

In effect, the Rams gave quarterback Case Keenum a chance to play 10½ months ago in Houston when they knocked starter Matt Schaub out of the game because of an ankle injury.

On Monday, the Rams gave him a chance to play in St. Louis by claiming him off waivers after the Texans released him a day earlier.

Keenum, the former University of Houston star, arrived in St. Louis on Monday night as the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind starter Shaun Hill and backup Austin Davis.

It will be a crowded quarterback meeting room because Rams sixth-round draft pick Garrett Gilbert was signed to the practice squad over the holiday weekend. That makes it four quarterbacks. But you get the feeling the Rams aren’t quite finished with their QB maneuvering.

“I’m really excited about getting a new chance, a fresh start with a great organization, great coaches, and great teammates,” Keenum said before boarding a plane for St. Louis at Houston’s Hobby Airport. “I’m looking forward to getting to work.”

Keenum spoke to Rams coach Jeff Fisher not long after being claimed Monday afternoon.

“He was very excited about having me get to town and get over and start working with the coordinator of their offense and their quarterback coach,” Keenum said. “He’s excited about their team, and I’m excited to do whatever I can to help that team be better.”

To make room for Keenum on the roster, the Rams placed tight end Justice Cunningham on the injured reserve list. Cunningham suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason finale against Miami and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks. The team will attempt to reach an injury settlement with Cunningham.

The Rams were heavy at tight end any way – with five – after the initial cut-down to 53 players Saturday.

Keenum, who is from Abilene, Texas, was a hugely-productive player in college for the Houston Cougars, ending his time there as the NCAA’s career leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, and completions.

Granted a sixth year of eligibility after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Game 3 of the previous season (against UCLA), Keenum threw an NCAA record nine TD passes against Rice in 2011.

To put that in perspective, during the entire 2011 season under coach Steve Spagnuolo, Rams quarterbacks threw nine TD passes.

Despite piling up all those numbers, Keenum went undrafted in 2012, signing with the Texans as a rookie free agent. His lack of size (6 feet, one-half inch, 205 pounds) and questionable arm strength were the most common knocks against him.

“I don’t think he really fits what the Rams do,” said a veteran scout Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Because to me, I look at Bradford – he’s a big-armed kid. This guy is not a big-armed kid. He does not have a cannon. He’s a small guy.

“Now, he’s brilliant. He is frighteningly smart. He’ll have their playbook down in two weeks. He gets rid of the ball very fast. But he has a below-average arm. I think he’s a very good NFL backup. He’s a better athlete than he gets credit for.”

Others feel that Keenum has a stronger arm than people think. He sees the field, is accurate, and has leadership qualities and a charisma to him.

“He plays like he has nothing to lose,” Texans wide receiver DeVier Posey told the Monday Morning Quarterback web site last season. “When he gets down on one knee in the huddle, you believe any play can work. He just has that Texas good old country boy swagger.”

Keenum was No. 3 on the depth chart in Houston when Schaub went down against the Rams on Oct. 13 in Reliant Stadium.

But Texans coach Gary Kubiak liked Keenum, who leapfrogged backup T.J. Yates into the starting lineup the following week against then unbeaten Kansas City.

The 2013 season was a train wreck for the Texans, but Keenum breathed life into the team in his first three starts, losses to Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Arizona by a combined seven points. Those three teams all finished with 10 or more wins.

Keenum, 26, threw for 822 yards and seven touchdowns in those three games, with no interceptions.

But it was tough sledding in Keenum’s final five starts – all losses – with two TD passes and six interceptions. He missed the final two games because of a thumb injury.

With a new head coach, Bill O’Brien, and a new offensive system this season, Keenum struggled in exhibition play, producing only three scoring drives – all field goals – in 12 possessions. Then, again, all of the Texans’ QBs struggled in varying degrees in the preseason.

But when the Texans traded for New England quarterback Ryan Mallet over the weekend, Keenum became expendable. Starter Ryan Fitzpatrick generally is considered a stopgap solution. But Mallett (6-6, 245) and fourth-round draft pick Tom Savage (6-4, 228) fit more of the stronger-armed, big frame Tom Brady prototype. O’Brien is a Bill Belichick disciple and former Patriots assistant.

So on Sunday, Keenum became the third of the three holdover QBs O’Brien inherited to be shown the door, joining Schaub (now in Oakland) and Yates (now in Atlanta).

“It’s definitely bittersweet right now,” Keenum said. “It’s been a weird 24 hours. The Texans, the McNairs — everybody there — it’s a first-class organization. I loved every minute I spent there. . . .It’s a tough league and a tough game.”

Robert McNair is the team owner; his son Cal, is the team’s vice chairman.

I don’t know much about him. Bill O’Brien is supposed to be one of these “QB gurus” and this is what he has to say about QBs:

O’Brien has been known for his work with quarterbacks, a hole the Texans seem to be in most desperate need of. As someone who some have called a QB guru, although O’Brien believes no coaches are experts or gurus, there are certain things he is looking for in the man who will run the offense of Reliant Stadium next year and for the years to come.
“Is he a winner. Is he a guy that is a leader on his team? Is he a good locker room guy? Is he going to be a great guy in the community? Is he a guy that’s going to study the game morning noon or night, be obsessed with the game. I think those are things that are very important for a quarterback.”

I assume Keenum meets those qualities.

For me–I always valued awareness as the most important QB quality. Joe Montana never had a big arm but he knew where everyone was. If you have a good release and awareness you can go far in this league. A lot of “big armed” QBs were flops anyway. I’m looking at you Jeff George.

So I am going to remain cautiously optimistic on this move.

I guess this means they’ll pretty much be carrying the three QBs on the roster this year.

Austin Davis probably is a bit uncomfortable today. I would like to see Davis get some reps in a real game someday(hopefully not by injury but because the Rams have a huge lead)just to see how he handles it.

Hopefully we don’t have to see Keenum or Davis this year. Hopefully Hill plays well, stays healthy and leads the Rams to a winning record. Or even better–the playoffs.

JT: “… Keenum threw an NCAA record nine TD passes against Rice in 2011.
To put that in perspective,
during the entire 2011 season under coach Steve Spagnuolo, Rams quarterbacks threw nine TD passes.”
==================

“To put that in perspective” ? Well, that
would be a pretty weird perspective
if you ask me.

w
v

zn wrote:

Now Schott’s system is the 3rd is he going to learn. First WCO, like Shurmur. Then…O’Brien, who has the same system McD does. Schott makes 3.

Kind of spooky, hunh, if you think about it….

So you’re saying he is about to tear an ACL?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Zooey.