Losers of two straight contests, and with their playoff chances slipping away, the Washington Redskins and coach Steve Spurrier have made yet another change at the quarterback position.

Spurrier told his quarterback corps on Monday morning, then reiterated at an afternoon press conference, that Shane Matthews will be demoted from No. 1 to No. 3 on the depth chart and replaced by either Danny Wuerffel or first-round draft choice Patrick Ramsey for Sunday's game against St. Louis.

The Washington Post reported in its editrions Wednesday that Wuerffel would get the start.

"Shane has struggled, but it's not all his fault," said Spurrier, who is making his fifth quarterback switch since the week leading into the regular season. "The offense has struggled. We've struggled in pass protection. So it's not all on Shane. But we want to see what the other guys can do."

Only three weeks ago, Spurrier essentially said he was married to Matthews for the balance of the year. Of course, he earlier made a similar comment about Ramsey, who has started two games this season.

While it appears Wuerffel and Ramsey could split snaps at the beginning of the week, league and team sources told ESPN.com on Monday morning that Spurrier is leaning heavily toward starting the former against the Rams. He would, however, give playing time to Ramsey as well, as Spurrier continues to seek a viable quarterback around whom he can build.

Wuerffel was supposed to have opened the year as the starter but his poor play in the preseason finale elicited a change of heart by Spurrier, who opted to go with Matthews at the time. Matthews has completed 124 of 237 passes for 1,251 yards, with 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions.

It marks the second time this year that Matthews has not only been benched, but dropped to third on the depth chart. For what it's worth, given all of the flip-flopping he has done in his debut NFL season, Spurrier suggested that he plans to play either Wuerffel or Ramsey the balance of the year.

In a move that has been coming for weeks, the Redskins also placed strong safety Sam Shade on injured reserve with a neck injury. He will be out the rest of the year.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.