When the St. Louis Ramsturned down an enticing offer for Sam Bradford to procure a passel of draft picks for Robert Griffin III in 2012, the plan was to set the organization up for a decade of success.
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That plan was contingent on Sam Bradford converting his prodigious potential into franchise quarterback status.
Although Bradford has regressed at times during the past two seasons, the Rams are reluctant to address the position with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
General manager Les Snead remains steadfast in his support of the former No. 1 overall pick residing atop his quarterback depth chart.
"As we've said, Sam's our starting QB," Snead said Thursday, via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "And maybe that's too way out of the box to take a QB that high."
Snead will consider adding quarterback insurance and/or eventual competition later in the draft, but he doesn't know if it's "the wisest thing" to allocate a high first-round pick with Bradford locked in as the starter.
The Rams are in a precarious position. With the addition of a big bodied, go-to wide receiver and help in the defensive backfield, this team will be ready to contend for a playoff spot in 2014 -- as long as the quarterback isn't a detriment.
The "Around The League Podcast" has created a quarterback scale in which Andy Daltonsits in purgatory. Any player before Dalton is a legitimate franchise quarterback. Any player "After Dalton" is not the answer.
Coming off reconstructive knee surgery which has temporarily set back the progress of Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Robert Griffin III in the recent past, Bradford currently sits as close to purgatory as possible. He's a question mark for the 2014 season and beyond.
If Snead is indeed all-in on Bradford, his best bet is to trade out of the No. 2 spot while continuing to stockpile draft picks.
He might need to use one of those future picks on a quarterback.
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