Rams mailbag: How much has Case Keenum improved?

After home exhibitions against the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Rams are off to Denver to play the Super Bowl champion Broncos.

NFL teams must cut their rosters from 90 to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon. The final cuts, to 53 players, must be done by the afternoon of Sept. 3.

Now, on to your questions. Keep them coming at @latimesklein or gary.klein@latimes.com

Case Keenum went into camp as the starter, a status he never enjoyed in his pro career with the Houston Texans and the Rams.

Despite the shadow of top pick Jared Goff, and the organization’s trumpeting him as their franchise quarterback, Keenum has played with confidence.

It is practice and exhibitions so it’s difficult to gauge how much Keenum has improved since going 3-2 as the starter last year.

We’ll know more when the regular season starts and he’s playing against front line players for an entire game rather than a few series.

But it seems clear that he has a good command of the offense.

Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke puts Case Keenum, Jared Goff, Sean Mannion and Dylan Thompson through a lot of drills, but throwing for distance is not one that I have witnessed.

The quarterbacks challenge each other to see who can hit the goal-post cross bar and they do any number of things when they come onto the field before practice. The other day, it looked like they were having some fun practicing a baseball relay-throw drill.

My sense is that Goff or Mannion can throw the ball the farthest.  

Judging from what they have done in training camp, and against Kansas City, offensive coordinator Rob Boras is not averse to having quarterbacks throw downfield.

The only regular element of the Rams offense, though, will be the quarterback handing the ball off to Todd Gurley. Perhaps this season the Rams can parlay that into effective play-action passes that will lift the franchise from the bottom of the NFL’s total offense and passing offense rankings. 

Russell Wilson was a third-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2012 draft. He started 16 games as a rookie.

Colin Kaepernick was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2011 draft. He played in three games but did not start.

As for Goff, the Rams traded to the top of the draft to select him. Through two exhibitions, he has not looked ready to start and Jeff Fisher has said he won’t play until he is ready. But that point could become moot if Case Keenum falters and the Rams brain trust decides to go all-in with Goff.

Sean Mannion played well in the first exhibition against the Dallas Cowboys, passing for three second-half touchdowns.

The former Oregon State standout appears to have made big strides since the Rams drafted him in the third round in 2015.

Mannion is a tradeable asset but it’s probably way too early to consider trading him. Quarterbacks – even serviceable ones -- are a premium commodity in the NFL. Mannion gives the Rams a pretty affordable option if Case Keenum is injured and Jared Goff is not ready to play. Of course, with all the Rams have invested in Goff, he will get every opportunity.

As the season progresses, and other teams’ quarterbacks are injured, the market for Mannion might increase.

Veteran receiver Brian Quick signed a one-year “prove it” contract and Jeff Fisher has of late not been shy about letting it be known that Quick has work to do.

On Sunday, when asked a general question about receivers, Fisher said Quick was dropping too many balls and needed to improve. Later in the week, when asked what he was hoping to see from receivers against the Broncos, he again brought up Quick by name and the need to catch the ball.

@LATimesklein chances they keep Brown and cut Mason? (tweet deleted)

Running back Tre Mason did not report to training camp in the aftermath of his March arrest in Florida in connection with misdemeanor driving and drug offenses. His future with the Rams has been in limbo and, at this point, it does not appear he will be returning any time soon.

Malcolm Brown has been the Rams’ leading rusher in exhibitions against the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs. He looks on track to win a spot behind Todd Gurley and Benny Cunningham. 

The problem you refer to, I’m guessing, is in the Rams secondary. And the solution you propose is signing free-agent safety Donte Whitner.

Whitner, 31, has been on the market since the Cleveland Browns released him in April.

The Rams had contact with Whitner but the veteran and the team were not close on proposed contract terms.

If he doesn’t sign with another team first – he reportedly was scheduled to visit the Carolina Panthers on Friday-- the Rams would probably revisit the possibility, but not at the price Whitner wanted originally.

Fisher said Higbee was experiencing flu-like symptoms in the days leading up the Kansas City exhibition so he did not play against the Chiefs.

Higbee is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him last season at Western Kentucky. The Rams gave him a day off earlier in camp but he has gone full speed and impressed throughout training camp.

He practiced this week and appears set to play against the Broncos.

It’s never too late if desirable players are available.

The Rams will no doubt monitor who gets cut when rosters are trimmed to 75 players after the third exhibition.

Defensive lineman Quinton Coples signed as a free agent with the Rams after he was released by the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins last season.

The former first-round draft pick went into off-season workouts and training camp as an end, but he has been playing tackle. Against the Chiefs, he recorded a sack and forced two fumbles.

Rob Havenstein had been on the physically unable to perform list, but he was listed on Friday’s NFL transactions as having passed a physical.

This week, he went through some warm-up drills and worked with trainers on the sideline during practices. Jeff Fisher said Havenstein would travel to Denver and go through pre-game activities. But he will not play.

Rodger Saffold has been playing right tackle on a line that includes left tackle Greg Robinson, left guard Cody Wichmann, center Tim Barnes and right guard Jamon Brown. The Rams want versatile offensive linemen so the rotation will come into focus against the Broncos.

UPDATES:

4 p.m.: This story was updated with details on Rob Havenstein’s injury situation.

It was originally published at 9:45 a.m.