Rams bench former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles

Nick Foles' starting tenure in St. Louis lasted nine games.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher announced Monday that he is benching the former Eagles quarterback and starting backup Case Keenum after Foles threw just one touchdown pass in the last four games.

The Rams acquired Foles from the Eagles in a March trade for Sam Bradford. They signed him to a two-year, $24.54 million contract extension that included $13.792 million guaranteed. Fisher said Foles would "eventually be under center" for the Rams again.

"By no means do we regret the trade, by no means do we regret the extension," Fisher said at a news conference in St. Louis. "Nick is a good quarterback, he's captain of this football team, but at this point, right now, based on where we are offensively, I feel like this is the direction we have to go."

The Eagles dealt Foles, a 2016 second-round pick, and a 2015 fourth-round pick for Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick. They used the fifth-rounder to move up in a draft-day trade for Eric Rowe. The heftiest price in the deal is the second-round pick, which the Eagles will miss this spring. The Eagles do not receive any additional compensation from the Rams because Bradford has reached playing time conditions.

Foles has completed 145 of 256 passes (56.6 percent) for 1,678 yards, with seven touchdowns and six interceptions this season. The Rams, like the Eagles, are 4-5. But Foles has struggled to move the Rams offense in recent weeks. He has not thrown for more than 200 yards since opening day.

"The lack of production is not Nick's fault," Fisher said. "The lack of production is a collective offensive effort and coaching. But we need more production and it starts with that position."

The Eagles appeared to sour on Foles last season, when he threw 10 interceptions in eight games and his yards per attempt dipped from 9.12 in 2013 to 6.96 in 2014. He also struggled to stay healthy - although it's not as if the Eagles acquired a beacon of durability in Bradford.

Fisher said Keenum will not have a short leash, but he did not give a timetable for when Foles would return to the lineup. The coach said Foles "just needs a break" and will run the scout team while gathering experience in the offense.

"I don't expect Nick to like it because he's a competitor, but he understands," Fisher said. I'm not saying this is week-to-week, but this is what's best for us right now."