Report: Jared Goff Won't Play Until Rams Are Eliminated

Jared Goff is going to remain on the bench for the Los Angeles Rams for the foreseeable future. According to Ian Rapoport, the rookie quarterback won’t see time this season until his team falls out of contention. While the Rams are currently 3-5 and trending downward, they aren’t technically out of the playoff chase yet.

The Rams have lost four straight while quarterback Case Keenum’s season has gone in the tank. Keenum currently ranks 28th in the NFL in passer rating (77.2) and has thrown nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions. Still, Los Angeles doesn’t think Goff is ready to take over.

When the Rams selected Goff with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, they expected him to take a while to assume the job under center. But it’s now been nine weeks of regular season play and he doesn’t appear any close to taking over the gig. Despite his arm talent, the 22-year-old clearly wasn’t ready to command an NFL offense coming out of Cal. He looked shaky at best in the preseason and wasn’t even active to open the year. He was also held back by the fact that he ran no-huddle spread systems in high school and college that didn’t force him to call plays or get in and out of huddles.

Goff and Todd Gurley could eventually form one of the NFL’s premier backfield duos, but the rest of the roster has to improve for them to be successful. There’s no reason the Rams should expect Goff to have any success behind their shaky offensive line and with their disappointing receiving corps.

Goff isn’t the answer in LA right now and there’s no point feeding him to the wolves until the team has nothing left to play for. The Rams are making the right decision on this one.