Ground control to Jared Goff: Why won't the Rams play their franchise QB?

"I know what my teammates think about me, I know what my coaches think about me," Jared Goff told Mashable in April, just before the Los Angeles Rams made him the first overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

"I don't concern myself with what anyone thinks outside of that." 

That's probably a good thing now. Halfway through his first NFL season, Goff has become the biggest mystery in pro football. The question on everyone's mind: Why isn't he playing?

It was almost too-perfect when the Rams selected Goff out of Cal this April. The 6-foot-4 signal caller grew up in Northern California's idyllic Marin County before becoming a star in Berkeley.

Then -- just before the Rams made a glamorous move back to Los Angeles from St. Louis this summer -- the franchise pinned its hopes upon the California golden boy by drafting him first overall. They even traded up to draft him.

Now here we are, approaching the 10th week of Goff's rookie season. The top pick still hasn't taken a snap.

The Rams raised eyebrows when they opted to start veteran Case Keenum at quarterback to begin the season. Still, this didn't seem too far-fetched at the time -- there's ample NFL precedent for bringing rookie quarterbacks along slowly. But that was months ago, and "slowly" no longer describes the situation.

Keenum has since devolved from kind-of-OK to disastrous at quarterback. The Rams have lost four straight games to fall to 3-5 on the season. During a 13-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers this Sunday, the new home fans in Los Angeles rained boos upon the team and chanted Goff's name.

So again: Where is the golden boy, the California kid, the number-one overall pick expected to lead this franchise for years to come? This is becoming odd.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

As the football world continues to wonder, two fellow rookie quarterbacks selected after Goff -- Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys -- have excelled this season.

Meanwhile, Rams coach Jeff Fischer continues to rationalize Keenum's struggles, correctly reminding reporters that the team's issues extend well beyond the quarterback position. He says he doesn't hear fans' calls for Goff to start. He also consistently declines to give a straightforward explanation for why Goff hasn't seen the field.

"Jared Goff is still our quarterback of the future," Fisher told the Monday Morning Quarterback last week in a vague, general endorsement. "He’s still our franchise quarterback, still in our long-term plans. It was a great trade."

To be fair, there are arguments to be made in favor of keeping Goff on the bench. Those arguments include:

• He excelled in a wide-open scheme at Cal, but one that operates much differently than NFL offenses. For example, he rarely took a snap under center in college.

• He's a long-term investment for the Rams. They'd be foolish to risk hampering his future prospects just to appease fans during a season that's going downhill fast.

• He looked far from ready during the 2016 pre-season while completing less than half his passes, throwing as many interceptions as touchdowns and fumbling three times.

Nonetheless, this an undeniably awkward and weird situation -- especially coupled with the the exploits of Wentz and Prescott, Goff's fellow rookie quarterbacks.

Even if Goff were to play poorly this season, it wouldn't be automatic cause for concern -- many a rookie has struggled in the NFL at first, only to excel later on. It all makes makes one wonder: What are the Rams hiding?

Until Goff finally gets some time, speculation abounds, the drumbeat calling for him to play gets louder and the pressure on him to perform when he finally does see the field only increases.

Meanwhile, the NFL's season's biggest mystery continues in all its awkward weirdness.