Rams shuffle their quarterback spot

ST. LOUIS -- Joe Germaine, who lost his backup job at quarterback with a poor performance in the final preseason game, was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs Monday for a sixth-round draft choice.

The Rams also signed quarterback Jamie Martin, who had been cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Martin previously was with the Rams from 1993-96, when coach Mike Martz was an offensive assistant with the team, and also spent the last month of the 1997 season with Martz in Washington.

"This is perfect," Martz said after finalizing his roster Sunday night. "It helps Dick Vermeil, and I know what Jamie is."

St. Louis will open the season with untested Marc Bulger as the backup to Kurt Warner, and Martin likely will take over the backup job before long.

"The down side to this, what scares me, is for a few weeks it's going to be touch and go," Martz said. "We're living on the edge a little bit."

Germaine was 0-for-4 in a quarter in the Rams' final preseason game. He was supposed to have gotten the bulk of the playing time, but Martz yanked him and let Bulger, who was on the practice squad for one week last year, go the rest of the way.

Germaine connected on only 12 of his last 40 passes in the preseason. He'll likely be the third-stringer in Kansas City behind Trent Green, who also played in St. Louis last year, and Todd Collins.

"I've just got to feel comfortable that when you go out on the field, the ball's got to go where it's supposed to go," Martz said. "I think Joe can do those things eventually, he's just not there."

Martin, 31, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Rams in 1993. He was 20-for-40 in the preseason for the Jaguars before being cut on Sunday.