Does Maddox Have Future With Rams? : Pro football: Quarterback figures to be attractive to expansion teams next season.

Running the Rams’ scout squad during practice, Tommy Maddox has assumed the roles of some of the league’s top quarterbacks--Atlanta’s Jeff George, San Francisco’s Steve Young.

But when will Maddox stop impersonating and become a starting NFL quarterback?

“I’m ready,” said Maddox, a former UCLA standout whom the Rams got by trading a fourth-round draft pick to Denver last month.

Maddox, inactive for the Rams’ first three games, is getting a chance to show what he can do this week, practicing with the second string for the first time because starter Chris Miller is out with rib and shoulder injuries. Chris Chandler will start Sunday at Kansas City.

But the Rams’ front office might have jeopardized Maddox’s future with the team when it restructured his contract earlier this week, a strong indication that he isn’t the team’s quarterback of the future.

To save money under the league’s $34.6-million salary cap, the Rams cut Maddox’s salary by $300,000 in exchange for voiding the final year of his four-year, $4.4-million deal they had assumed from the Broncos.

It allows Maddox, a third-year player, to become a restricted free agent at season’s end. That’s a major risk considering expansion franchises in Charlotte and Jacksonville probably would be willing to pay big salaries for a talented young quarterback.

By keeping Maddox, 23, in the final year of his contract, the Rams would have had another year to see if he could play without the risk of losing him to a team that can outbid them during the free-agency period.

If Maddox does sign elsewhere, the Rams would receive as compensation first- and third-round draft picks, depending on their contract tendered to him.

But can the Rams afford to match if another team makes a high-priced offer?

“Being a restricted free agent, Tommy’s rights will still belong to us,” Coach Chuck Knox said. “We’re looking for him to come in and be ready to play for us. We think he has a really big future.”

If that’s the case, why would the Rams risk losing him?

“It all depends on when the coaching staff decides if Maddox is the quarterback of the future,” said Jay Zygmunt, Ram senior vice president. “Will that be eight weeks? Twelve weeks? They’re looking at him.”

Maddox said the team hasn’t indicated what his future role is, nor is he certain of his playing time should Miller be healthy.

“You can’t just sit around your whole career,” said Maddox, who started only four games the last two seasons in Denver, where he backed John Elway.

“It’s frustrating to stand on the sidelines and know you’re not even going to get in the game unless some bizarre things have happened.

“I’m to the point now where everything I can improve on is on the field. I don’t think I can stand on the sideline and learn anything else.”

In the meantime, Maddox has grown impatient running the Rams’ scout squad.

“I redshirted my first year in college, and sometimes this season has kind of been like that,” Maddox said. “I’m trying not to look at it like that, but it’s frustrating. Any time quarterbacks are playing on your team and you aren’t, you’re going to get frustrated.”

The Rams took advantage of Denver’s eagerness to trade Maddox, whom the Broncos had drafted in the first round in 1992 and billed as the heir apparent to Elway.

The Broncos said they were having salary-cap problems and wanted to cut Maddox’s $875,000 salary by $600,000. Maddox took that as an insult, and the team shopped him around the league.

But Denver insiders say the salary cap wasn’t the only consideration that led to Maddox’s departure. His mental toughness and work ethic were questioned, and he didn’t get along with Bronco offensive coordinator Jim Fassel.

But the Rams figured Maddox’s value will increase in the off-season. Plus, Maddox gave them the young quarterback they had bypassed in the first round of the draft when they didn’t take Fresno State’s Trent Dilfer.

“I think Tommy has the capability to be a starter in this league,” said Dave Logan, a former wide receiver with Cleveland and Denver who now does radio commentary for the Broncos.

“You look around the league and see those expansion teams coming in, and you have to figure he’s going to be a starter somewhere next year.”

But will he ever start for the Rams?

“That’s not my call,” Maddox said. “All I can do is work hard and stay in meetings and look at film and get myself prepared mentally.

“I can’t sit around and drive myself crazy with this.”