Rams add Thomas to Roster, will carry 7 WR

[den-the-coach]

I don't know man, they haven't released anybody yet.

They don't have to make a player move until Wednesday, which starts the new week.

 

[Soul Surfer]

They don't have to make a player move until Wednesday, which starts the new week.

I realize that but if they had somebody in mind, and have had plenty of time to figure out who that would be.

It's not that big a deal.
We'll find out soon enough.

 

[dieterbrock]

I thought they would have a roster exemption, like they had for Donald

 

[NERamsFan]

I agree here.

Pharoh Cooper has only 1 catch for 4 yds in the offense & would seem to be the likely player to cut but he has been our KR even though he is just average at it. Cooper is a real good kid who does all the little things well He has no burrs on him. Cooper fits the Slot best IMO. Thomas is an outside deep receiver one that we could use more.

Rams do have a good amount of safeties on this roster too. One safety who has yet to make a tackle is SS Marqui Christian. We saw a good amount of safety John Johnson & Blake Countess thus far too both of them have 7 tackles each. While Cody Davis has 12. With LJ out those 3 are getting a good work out, So Christian looks like the odd man out if they wanted to release him.

One thing that might keep Christian on the roster is the poor play of SS Mo Alexander.

My guess too, brotha! I mentioned it in another thread yesterday that I thought Christian would be the one getting axed. With Joyner's return imminent, it doesn't make sense to carry all these safeties, especially one who made a terrible penalty during a crucial part of the game (our comeback baby!!!).

 

[den-the-coach]

I thought they would have a roster exemption, like they had for Donald

No like when Hill came off suspension they must drop a guy from the 53 to add Thomas.

 

[Ramrasta]

I thought the Seahawks signed Quinton Jefferson from our practice squad?

If they did, it's a sign that they are worried. They must be struggling to understand the new offense and defense.

 

[RamsFlash80]

McVay really likes something about Thomas based on past quotes. He did show the ability to seperate deep but couldnt catch the ball last year. Hopefully he has worked on his hands this offseason. He did look pretty good in the preseason game where he got hurt. Im sure hes going to play special teams mostly but McVay has said alot of good things about him as a WR. It feels good to finally be really deep at WR for once.

 

[pmil66]

Ejuan Price would be my guess.

 

[BonifayRam]

My guess too, brotha! I mentioned it in another thread yesterday that I thought Christian would be the one getting axed. With Joyner's return imminent, it doesn't make sense to carry all these safeties, especially one who made a terrible penalty during a crucial part of the game (our comeback baby!!!).

Wade favors a heavy safety unit. CB Troy Hill returned & jumped over CB Hatfield on the depth chart. Then when CB K.Webster returned from the injury Wade was able to use CB NRC to cover the Slot in the Nickle. When FS LJ comes back from injury Wade will have a decision to either turn the Nickle back over to LJ or continue with CB NRC. Could be Wade sticks NRC @ Nickle & let LJ do more hitting as a safety instead. If LJ was bigger he would make a dandy SS.

Ejuan Price would be my guess.

Could be but that looks like a unsound move to me. Rams drafted OLB Price has been penciled in behind Quinn & Longacre @ OLB'er. OLB Quinn has been struggling to be effective in passing or run defense plus his over 12 million cap hit in 2018 plus the fact that OLB Conner Barwin will be a UFA in March of 2018. Even Longacre will be involved in FA'cy in March. OLB Price would appear to be a excellent groomed OSLB'er prospect for next season. Without Price the Rams will loose one good option.

 

[Merlin]

Pharoh Cooper has only 1 catch for 4 yds in the offense & would seem to be the likely player to cut but he has been our KR even though he is just average at it. Cooper is a real good kid who does all the little things well He has no burrs on him. Cooper fits the Slot best IMO. Thomas is an outside deep receiver one that we could use more.

Pharaoh did a good job in camp playing different roles and brings flexibility that McVay values, but yeah I do think he is one of the guys in the conversation if they straight cut the WR group. Now granted they said they weren't going to cut WR, so looks like he's safe, but we'll see here soon.

McVay really likes something about Thomas based on past quotes.

Yes I agree and when you look at the quality of the WR room and the fact that they didn't just cut Thomas outright you can see that the team has plans for him. Also, as I noted during camp I was watching him run routes and he looked like a different guy from the previous year. I'm serious man, the guy is a big, rangy dude but he was running some very crisp routes to include comebacks that were 180 out from what I had seen before. It took me a few minutes to realize who it was.

If they cut him he is an immediate pickup on the waiver wire by the Browns. In fact any WR the Rams cut at this point will not make it through waivers. So I get why the team is agonizing over this one.

 

[pmil66]

Wade favors a heavy safety unit. CB Troy Hill returned & jumped over CB Hatfield on the depth chart. Then when CB K.Webster returned from the injury Wade was able to use CB NRC to cover the Slot in the Nickle. When FS LJ comes back from injury Wade will have a decision to either turn the Nickle back over to LJ or continue with CB NRC. Could be Wade sticks NRC @ Nickle & let LJ do more hitting as a safety instead. If LJ was bigger he would make a dandy SS.

Could be but that looks like a unsound move to me. Rams drafted OLB Price has been penciled in behind Quinn & Longacre @ OLB'er. OLB Quinn has been struggling to be effective in passing or run defense plus his over 12 million cap hit in 2018 plus the fact that OLB Conner Barwin will be a UFA in March of 2018. Even Longacre will be involved in FA'cy in March. OLB Price would appear to be a excellent groomed OSLB'er prospect for next season. Without Price the Rams will loose one good option.

Noticed Price has not been active on the gameday roster after 4 games. Christian was active last week due to the Joyner injury. Is Joyner healthy may be the question we dont know. Also may be easier to get Price to the practice squad as opposed to Christian.

 

[Ramstien]

I look for a DB to pass thru waivers and than go to the practice squad. I'm thinking maybe Countess, the rookie Johnson seems to be playing good. I am also wondering what is going to happen when RB Dunbar returns to the roster from the PUP list.

 

[yrba1]

If Thomas pans out, the depth at the WR position will be night-and-day from last year. Will give props to Fisher for sniffing out some solid talent there; too bad he was garbage in the development category. I can imagine Stedman Bailey contributing in McVay's offense if not for that unfortunate accident

 

[BonifayRam]

Noticed Price has not been active on the gameday roster after 4 games. Christian was active last week due to the Joyner injury. Is Joyner healthy may be the question we dont know. Also may be easier to get Price to the practice squad as opposed to Christian.

True Price has yet to dress. Wade has Barwin, Quinn, Longacre, Ebukam & even Littleton all dressed for each game who can play both OSLB'er posts leaving the Rookie in shorts on the sideline. Fact to remember is Quinn has been injury prone since early 2015 & has not been the same or played much since then. He has had 3 different surgeries since then too. Do we really expect him to make it through this season uninjured?The future OLB'ers will have some changes when the season ends. With Salary Cap funds being a very big issue in March with free agency & the amount of 8 to 9 Ram starters involved in it, will cause some major effort by Demoff & Snead.

Price plays behind Quinn & I would consider that the non productive 2018 highest paid Ram (Quinn) will be released with a near 11.5 mil in cap savings. Barwin is a UFA & he signed a real cap friendly 1 yr contract this season he will most likely not do that again. Longacre will need a new contract too.That would leave both 2nd yr OLB'ers Ebukam & Price in the bird eye seats as starters.

To summarize I believe that Ejuan Price will have a good chance of earning a starting OLB'er position in 2018 for us.

 

[Loyal]

I wonder if McVay is just the new Mad Mike? He see's something in Thomas that I don't (not that I matter in this decision). What seems to be the pattern is featuring a new set of receiving weapons every week for Goff. Team's can't come in with a plan of stopping Sammy or Cooper, or Robert...etc...You see McVay sitting away from the sidelines during the games, figuring ways to course correct to what he sees in real time with how the offense is being defended. I am getting myself excited right now talking about it.....It feels like a GSOT-like offensive production is in the offing for the Rams this year. Face it Mike Martz, the kid is an offensive Guru.....and we are headed to the playoffs on offense alone.

 

[BonifayRam]

I wonder if McVay is just the new Mad Mike? He see's something in Thomas that I don't (not that I matter in this decision). What seems to be the pattern is featuring a new set of receiving weapons every week for Goff. Team's can't come in with a plan of stopping Sammy or Cooper, or Robert...etc...You see McVay sitting away from the sidelines during the games, figuring ways to course correct to what he sees in real time with how the offense is being defended. I am getting myself excited right now talking about it.....It feels like a GSOT-like offensive production is in the offing for the Rams this year. Face it Mike Martz, the kid is an offensive Guru.....and we are headed to the playoffs on offense alone.

Not sure if I am right on this but when McVay sits alone on the sidelines when the defense is on the field ...I get the feeling he is busy making adjustments to his offense ASAP after he observes & get information from above on what the opponents defense is doing. The second half is where the evidence & results from these time outs .

I bet McVay's mom had to dish out a ton of time outs for the young McVay when he was a kid you think?

 

[Loyal]

Not sure if I am right on this but when McVay sits alone on the sidelines when the defense is on the field ...I get the feeling he is busy making adjustments to his offense ASAP after he observes & get information from above on what the opponents defense is doing. The second half is where the evidence & results from these time outs .

I bet McVay's mom had to dish out a ton of time outs for the young McVay when he was a kid you think?

Yep...He is busting the mold of an NFL HC, and if the Rams continue in success, there will be a wave teams trying to duplicate him

 

[Merlin]

Yep...He is busting the mold of an NFL HC, and if the Rams continue in success, there will be a wave teams trying to duplicate him

I think there's a trend already in place tbh, he's just the best recent example. Gase's success last year was somewhat similar, although I think McVay has a better handle on the HC equation and is a better leader.

Here's the thing though... QB is the most important position wrt winning and losing and they're hard to find. Great offensive minds that can maximize the QB position are the rarest commodity in coaching. Only way to hold on to them is to hire them as HC, where they can't be poached by other teams.

So it's a trend that is going to continue. If I am a GM my goal is to find a rare offensive mind and put a support system around him to help him succeed. Where it can get tough is the leadership side, but there's only one way to find out if a guy can get it done.

 

[Rams43]

I disagree I can't see how it's not Cornelius Lucas Offensive Tackle, he was signed off the street so it's not like the Rams claimed him or signed him off a practice squad and he's been inactive for every game.

The Rams still would have 9 offensive linemen and would seem likely to be able to add Lucas to their practice squad and release either the WR they have (Brown) or FB Sam Rogers.

I think your suggestion makes the most sense, den.

At least to me.

Almost too much sense.

We’ll soon see...

 

[BonifayRam]

I disagree I can't see how it's not Cornelius Lucas Offensive Tackle, he was signed off the street so it's not like the Rams claimed him or signed him off a practice squad and he's been inactive for every game.

The Rams still would have 9 offensive linemen and would seem likely to be able to add Lucas to their practice squad and release either the WR they have (Brown) or FB Sam Rogers.

So many OT's going to the IR thus far....the Seahawks might take OLT Lucas & start him @ LT In LA.

The way they have been loosing LT's. Isaiah Battle is one of their other back up OT's