Rams news, 8/9

NBC Sports

* The Rams announced prior to Saturday night's practice that they have extended QB Nick Foles' contract for two seasons, making him a Ram through 2017. The $24 million contract includes $14 million guaranteed. This seems like a bit of a rushed move, since Foles has yet to throw a pass for the Rams, and I can't say he has an established track record. If the Rams signed 2013 Foles, then awesome; if they signed 2014 Foles, well, in three years they'll be back in the QB market, though that should also be enough time for Sean Mannion to prove if he can be an NFL starter. See how that "QB of the future" thing works, Fisher and Snead?

I think the Rams have their bases covered here. As long as Foles is average at worse this year and doesn't get hurt, they're better off having him locked up for a little bit than having to start all over again next season with who-knows-who at QB. They don't need great quarterbacking to win in their philosophy, but they need competence. Competent QBs have gotten pretty hard to find in the NFL these days.

And, if Foles plays like he did in 2013, they can consider extending him again. If he's just average the next three years, that's plenty of time to have Mannion ready as a credible option. If Foles is just average and Mannion doesn't develop on schedule, they'll be back in the draft market. And at QB salary-wise, they'll still be much better off than they were when they had Sam Bradford.

* Congratulations to former Ram Jerome Bettis and the rest of the 2015 class on their induction yesterday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'm in no hurry to put Bettis in the St. Louis Ring of Fame; his brief run here was pretty poor before he got traded to Pittsburgh, started trying again and became The Bus. But he did score the first Rams TD in the now-Edward Jones Dome. Sadly, we could see the historical bookend to that TD come the end of this season.

* The Rams made a roster move over the weekend, cutting RB Terrence Franks and signing DT Marcus Forston. I don't remember Franks, a rookie free agent, getting any reps in the two Rams practices I attended. He'll have to hope he can land somewhere he can get some action. Forston's a two-year veteran who's appeared in four games for the Patriots. He's 6'3" 305, 25, and shockingly, not from Auburn, but from The U. He's spent most of his career to date on the Patriots' practice squad. His scouting report calls him a quick-off-the-ball run stopper. Due to injuries in college and lack of NFL playing time, there really isn't a lot of tape on him. I assume the move was to limit the number of snaps the top three DTs have to take in preseason since Doug Worthington's injured.

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