Los Angeles Rams Not Sold On Jared Goff Being Their Quarterback

The Rams set sail into the offseason making something as clear as Southern California’s recent choppy weather: Jared Goff’s grasp on the team’s quarterback position is as firm as quicksand.

Coach Sean McVay said as much when the Rams were eliminated in an NFC divisional playoff game by the Green Bay Packers when stating that Goff was the starter “right now.”

McVay then doubled down while doing a season review, a year in which Goff’s game went sideways (a career-low 20 touchdown passes) and that’s being kind.

If anyone thought McVay, who was once effusive in his confidence of Goff, had misspoke, general manager Les Snead cleared his throat. He was putting a bow on the past season when asked about his quarterback of the present.

Snead’s endorsement was lukewarm, but only if someone added a cup of boiling water.

“What I can say is that Jared Goff is a Ram in this moment,’’ Snead told reporters. “It’s way too early to speculate the future. That’s a beautiful mystery.’’

That line is interesting in that it mimics Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ response to what lied ahead in his career. The California native wouldn’t revolt and demand a trade to L.A., would he?

DeShaun Watson wants liberation from the dysfunctional Houston Texans and can you imagine his star power in L.A.?

Then there’s the disgruntled Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and he likely salivates about joining his Texas high school buddy Clayton Kershaw in L.A. Stafford eyes the Dodgers’ Kershaw’s World Series ring, and the Rams’ potential, with envy.

At one time Goff was one up on every NFL quarterback. The Rams signed him to a $134 million contract extension, which came with a then-record $110 million guarantee, on the eve of the 2019 season.

The Rams underscored their belief in Goff after he directed to them to two playoff runs, the latter which included Super Bowl 53.

But two years later the wheels wobble on Goff’s bandwagon as the Rams deliver clues that they rather hitch their ride to someone else.

“I think the inference would be, we want to get better,’’ Snead said.

How far did the two-time Pro Bowler Goff’s stock tumble?

Despite being cleared after undergoing thumb surgery on his throwing hand, McVay started backup John Wolford over Goff in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Wolford exited prematurely with a concussion and a steady Goff replaced him to help the Rams to the win. But that wasn’t the case the following week when the Packers pounded L.A. and Goff into 2021.

What lingers with the defeat’s sting is the friction between McVay and Goff, the former now becoming a doubter of the latter. The pair that were once connected at the hip were undone by Goff’s erratic right arm.

But moving Goff is a task with a contract that weighs down the Rams’ options. Although Snead, one year removed from disposing of running back Todd Gurley’s bloated deal, doesn’t balk at considering his options.

“Moving on from Jared Goff, the money we’ve got invested in him, that’s not easy to overcome,’’ he said.

Impossible?

“Anything can be done in a cap-base system,’’ Snead said.

If the Rams flip Goff, there’s two levels of salary cap pain to be absorbed, according to overthecap.com.

Goff’s release would cost the Rams $65.2 million against the cap. Remove him via a trade and it’s a $22.2 million pill to swallow.

Neither would go down swiftly. So it’s easy to speculate that the Rams will retain Goff, but only with a stable of able suitors on-deck.

Maybe the line includes Watson, Stafford or Rodgers? Or could they stick with Wolford? Did Dak Peterson and the Dallas Cowboys ever lasso a long-term pact?

What’s been a deal-breaker for the Rams is Goff’s two-year stretch of producing an NFL-high 39 turnovers. That has L.A. exploring an early offramp from his contract, two seasons after he steered the Rams to the Super Bowl.

L.A. is having second thoughts about Goff and it christens its offseason wrestling with what to do about it.