St. Louis Rams Name Sam Bradford Starting Quarterback, Officially

There can’t have been much doubt left after Bradford’s perfect quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in the final week of preseason, but it’s official: Sam Bradford will be starting quarterback of the St. Louis Rams week one of the NFL regular season, reports Turf Show Times.

Bradford’s preseason numbers and A.J. Feeley’s injury necessitated the move. The Rams’ no. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft was 33-for-55 in the preseason, with 338 passing yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. His quarterback rating was 95.9, 15th among quarterbacks with at least 30 pass attempts.

In a related move, Thaddeus Lewis won the third quarterback job; Keith Null was released, cutting the roster further toward its regular season maximum of 53.

Rams Will Announce Starting Quarterback By Monday

It certainly looked like rookie quarterback Sam Bradford earned the St. Louis Rams starting quarterback job in his performance against the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night, but the Rams are holding off on any sort of formal announcement – for now.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Friday that he’d make a decision in the next two or three days.

“Right now, there won’t be any in-depth starting 22 announcements until we get through these final evaluations,” Spagnuolo said. “I realize the quarterback position is high profile, I respect that.”

Bradford, who completed all six of his passes in the preseason finale, is taking it all in stride and will just keep doing what he’s doing until he hears one way or the other.

“If he says that, then I’ll handle it like I know I can,” Bradford said. “But until then, I’m just going to show up, do what I can and hopefully one day I will be the starter of this team.”

In Bradford’s two preseason starts, he completed 21 of his 28 passing attempts for 257 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

NFL Preseason: St. Louis Rams Beat Baltimore Ravens 27-21 To Finish Preseason 3-1

St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) – Rookie Thaddeus Lewis’ 26-yard TD pass to Brandon McRae in the fourth quarter helped the St. Louis Rams beat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-21, in the preseason finale for both clubs.

Lewis completed 6-of-8 passes for 89 yards for the Rams, who went 3-1 in the preseason and open the season against the Cardinals on September 12. Fellow rookie Sam Bradford connected on 6-of-6 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Keith Null completed 7-of-10 passes for 90 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

Brandon Gibson caught four passes for 40 yards and score. Billy Bajema also had a receiving TD.

Troy Smith played the entire game, completing 18-of-38 passes for 237 yards and two interceptions for the Ravens, who also went 3-1 in the preseason and open the season versus the Jets on September 13. Smith also carried the ball seven times for 56 yards and two scores.

David Reed caught three passes for 65 yards, while Dannell Ellerbe returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown in defeat.

NFL Preseason: Sam Bradford Cements St. Louis Rams Starting Role With 6-for-6 Finale

No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford went 6-for-6 with one touchdown in the St. Louis Rams’ final preseason game of 2010, in all likelihood securing the starting quarterback role for Week One against the Arizona Cardinals.

In the battle for the third string position incumbent Keith Null is 7-for-10 with a touchdown and an interception.

NFL Preseason: Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams Look To Decide Starter Battle Against Marc Bulger, Baltimore Ravens

(Sports Network) - Rookie Sam Bradford can make a final case for St. Louis Rams starting quarterback duties on Thursday night at the Edward Jones Dome, as the No. 1 pick and his team try to prevent the Baltimore Ravens from polishing off a perfect preseason.

Bradford, subbing for the injured A.J. Feeley last week against New England, put together the sharpest performance of his young Rams career. The ex-Oklahoma star and Heisman winner was 15-of-22 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Pats, and another such outing could cement his status as the Week 1 starter.

Feeley will not play on Thursday due to lingering thumb and elbow injuries.

Though running back Steven Jackson seems unlikely to grace the lineup against the Ravens for precautionary reasons, head coach Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur might have greater urgency to judge the team's starting wide receiver options.

No. 1 wideout Donnie Avery was lost for the season with a knee injury suffered against the Patriots last week, meaning the team is looking for a starting receiver to couple with Laurent Robinson. Holdovers Danny Amendola, Keenan Burton and rookie Mardy Gilyard are all candidates for the position.

The Ravens, meanwhile, enter Week 4 of the preseason as one of two undefeated teams along with the 49ers, and with a win will finish unbeaten in the warm-up period for the second straight year. Baltimore's August consisted of victories over the Panthers (17-12), Redskins (23-3) and Giants (24-10), and John Harbaugh's squad will be seeking to carry their winning ways well into September.

Baltimore is unlikely to feature many of its principles on Thursday, especially after losing wideouts Donte' Stallworth (foot) and Mark Clayton (concussion) in last week's win over the Giants. Stallworth could miss two months, while a timetable for Clayton's return has not been set.

Backup QB and ex-Ram Marc Bulger should see some time in his former home stadium, while Troy Smith is slated for action as well.

Following Thursday's games, all 32 NFL teams will have until 6pm ET on Saturday evening to trim their rosters to the 53-player maximum.

The Ravens last lost a preseason game on Aug. 28, 2008 against the Falcons, and their last road loss during the tune-up period came at St. Louis on Aug. 23rd of that year. That matchup, a 24-10 St. Louis win ranks as the only previous warm-up meeting between the Rams and Ravens.

The Rams open the 2010 regular season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sun., Sept. 12th, while the Ravens open their slate at the New York Jets the next night.