On Monday, the Rams officially benched quarterback Nick Foles.
He was benched in favor of backup quarterback Case Keenum, 27, who has had his fair share of game action in the National Football League, and the team hopes he can spark an offense that save for Todd Gurley has been inept all season.
Nine games into the season, Foles ranked 32nd in QBR (34.1), 29th in passer rating (75.9) and 28th in passing yards (1,678). As an offense, the Rams are 31st in yards per game and 32nd in passing yards per game.
As for Keenum, he spent five years at the University of Houston playing on the Cougars’ football team. In 2007, his first year as a starter, replacing Kevin Kolb, Keenum played in 13 games, starting seven of them. He went 187/273 for 2,259 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was also named as the 2007 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, as the Cougars finished 8-5.
The following season, Keenum, now firmly entrenched as the starter, became the second player in school history to complete over 5,000 passing yards in one season. He played a major role in helping Houston win their first bowl game in 28 years, as he was named the 2008 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year award. He finished the season by throwing 30 more touchdowns than he did the season before, and only throwing one more interception than in 2007.
His collegiate career got only better as in five years with the Cougars, he threw for nearly 20,000 yards, 155 touchdowns, 46 interceptions, and a total passer rating of 160.6.
Despite his amazing collegiate stats, Keenum went undrafted in 2012, and later signed with his hometown Houston Texans. It wouldn’t be until the 2013 season where he would see any game action. He made his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs, and while they lost 17-16, Keenum completed 15 of 25 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown, along with a 110.6 passer rating. His performance was rated as one of the best by a Texans quarterback that season.
However, he went 0-8 as a starter for the Texans in 2013.
While the Rams signed Keenum to the practice squad in the 2014 off-season, he eventually was signed back to the Houston Texans, where he won two games as a starter. During this past off-season, the Rams traded a 2016 seventh round pick in exchange for Keenum, where he has been since.
This Sunday, he will make his first start in a Rams uniform against the lowly Baltimore Ravens.
(Photo Credit: www.bleacherreport.com)
