Rams relegate Jared Goff to third string status

Just months after the Rams traded three picks to select him No. 1 overall, Jared Goff will open the season at the bottom of the team’s quarterback depth chart.

When the Los Angeles Rams take to the field to begin their first season as California residents in 22 years, they will not be led by their newly minted No. 1 overall pick from this year’s draft.

That’s because Jared Goff, the man tapped by ownership to right a quarterback ship long gone adrift, will begin the season at third on the Rams’ depth chart, behind both Case Keenum and 2015 third-round pick Sean Mannion. It’s an attempt by coach Jeff Fisher to completely lower immediate expectations on Goff, who has struggled to get going as a pro (to put it mildly).

The former Cal Golden Bear completed only 44.9 percent of his pass attempts (22 of 49) for a meager 232 yards. That includes a pair of touchdown throws — including a 30-yard toss to Bradley Marquez on Thursday night — but also a slew of interceptions and fumbles.

What’s perhaps been most concerning is how slow Goff has been to settle in, as the speed of the game has yet to come into focus. Indeed, Goff has struggled not only with the consistency of his passing, but the mechanics as well — releasing the ball on time and even taking snaps, despite nearly exclusively operating out of the shotgun.

Fisher’s decision is one that’s hard to rail against, as Goff has clearly been the least impressive of the options at L.A.’s disposal. But carrying the prestige and expectations of being the top overall pick is a heavy cross to bear, and sooner than later this season Goff will have to prove himself. But for now, the team seems dead set on protecting their sizable investment by stashing him at bench’s end.

Goff will now become the first quarterback taken No. 1 overall since Alex Smith in 2005 to not start in Week 1. Since then, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, and Jameis Winston have all immediately taken the reins for their club after being taken with the top pick.

Instead, now we’ll see Keenum opposite Blaine Gabbert in the Rams’ season debut — certainly not the start that Rams brass were hoping for a few months ago. And while it was said that Keenum would be given every opportunity to start and was the favorite headed into the camp, the expectations were never for Goff to be banished this far down the bench this early.