Pick your poison, Rams fans.
None of St. Louis' options at quarterback are inspiring a ton of confidence. It's unfortunate too, because the Rams are a QB away from contention. As it stands right now, it seems as if Sam Bradford will be back in 2015, even though he will count roughly $17 million against the salary cap and is coming off a second torn ACL.
Backup Shaun Hill will be an unrestricted free agent. Even if the team does re-sign him, they still will be without a long-term answer.
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden "has spoken with the Rams at the Senior Bowl."
"According to one scout, Carden doesn't necessarily wow you on the practice field, but come game day it's a different story," Thomas wrote. "He's a gamer. Carden didn't dispute the description.
"...Carden doesn't have the name recognition of the other QBs attending the Senior Bowl because East Carolina isn't a so-called 'Power 5' school. But he put up great numbers in college, including school records for passing yards (11,991) and touchdowns (86) over three seasons."
It's unclear how well Carden projects to the NFL. As a result of the uncertainty, ESPN's Matt Williamson believes the Rams are right to bring back Bradford while also planning to make upgrades at the quarterback position.
"The Rams should bring back Shaun Hill as an insurance policy, regardless of their decision on Bradford, but they shouldn't stop there," Williamson wrote. "They should see if one of the teams with the top pick in the draft would be open to a trade to land the Rams one of the draft's top two QB prospects: Oregon's Marcus Mariota and Florida State's Jameis Winston. If a blockbuster trade such as that - similar to the 2012 trade that landed the Redskins Robert Griffin III and the Rams a wealth of draft picks - isn't feasible, the Rams should look for a high-upside developmental prospect at QB in one of the early rounds."
Does Carden fit that high-upside mold? Can Bradford resurrect his career? Should St. Louis try to trade up in the draft?
The Rams are faced with an abundance of questions for the 2015 season. The only way to find answers will be to let it all play out on the field.
