Rams bench Bulger in favor of Frerotte

St. Louis quarterback Gus Frerotte passes during a preseason game against Kansas City. Frerotte will start in place of Marc Bulger for the Rams on Sunday against Arizona.

? One day after insisting he’d stick with Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan benched his banged-up quarterback.

The winless Rams will go with backup Gus Frerotte on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Linehan said Wednesday. Frerotte and Bulger, who has been ineffective while playing with two broken ribs, both got the news on Tuesday from the coach and the news was made public before practice Wednesday.

Linehan also will return to play-calling in an effort to wake up a dormant offense that has scored only two touchdowns, yanking duties from offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Olson was Linehan’s first hire when he got the job last year, and will move to the booth where he’ll assist the head coach.

Linehan said sitting Bulger was his call after reviewing the last three games, and not a decision made under pressure from superiors.

“Any theories or anything said out there are absolutely not true,” Linehan said. “I look forward to a healthy Marc Bulger getting back in the lineup as soon as possible.”

Bulger, a two-time Pro Bowl player, signed a six-year, $65 million contract extension in training camp. He has thrown four interceptions the last two weeks and was 11-for-24 for 114 yards and an interception in Sunday’s 35-7 loss to Dallas.