Sam Bradford wasn't the only quarterback peeved his team traded up to draft a signal-caller of the future.
NFL Media's Steve Wyche reported Wednesday that Los Angeles quarterback Nick Foles has not participated in team-run workouts since the Rams drafted Jared Goff No. 1 overall. Foles had been a regular at team workouts prior to the draft, Wyche added, but he skipped the start of organized team activities on Tuesday.
ESPN's Jim Trotter first reported the news.
Wyche added that the Rams do not have a mandatory mini-camp scheduled so Foles could miss all voluntary work over the next few weeks without being fined. Foles could face fines should he decided to hold out from training camp this summer.
Coach Jeff Fisher addressed Foles' absence after Wednesday's session.
"I've had conversations with Nick and we're on the same page," Fisher said. "And we're trying to work things out. "We're in the process of sorting things out with Nick. It has nothing to do with him not wanting to come in and compete at all. He's very, very competitive. We appreciate everything he did for us and his leadership (and) his teammates miss him."
The likelihood of Foles not being on the Rams' roster this season has probably played into his decision to not participate in OTAs, Fisher said.
"I think Nick has the feeling that if things stay the same he's probably not going to be on the roster," Fisher said. "But beyond that it was more of a mutual thing, not that we said don't come. It was just say 'Hey coach I'd just rather, I'd just rather stay away until we get things worked out.' And I said I'm fine with that."
The Rams traded Bradford for Foles last season -- a move GM Les Snead admitted he knew might fail -- then signed him to a two-year, $24.5 million extension, with $13.8 million guaranteed. After just nine starts, Foles had lost his job to undrafted Case Keenum.
Foles' contract is the only thing even keeping him on the roster, for now. The QB received a $6 million roster bonus in March (before the team traded for the No. 1 pick) and owns a guaranteed base salary of $1.75 million this season.
If the Rams could find a sucker to take Foles off their hands, he'd be traded. The guaranteed money might not even save the quarterback's roster spot when cuts come this summer.
Unlike Bradford, Foles wasn't slotted as the starter entering offseason workouts even prior to the team trading up for a rookie. The Rams had already realized he was a terrible decision-maker who short-circuited their goal of protecting the football while relying on the ground game. Over the past two seasons Foles has a 20-20 TD-INT ratio. Even those with terrible vision can see he's not starting quarterback material.
Foles' skipping workouts should ultimately have no impact on the team's decision to keep or move on from the backup -- if anything they might appreciate more practice reps for Goff.
