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With four cuts remaining, Sam still a Ram
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b9ad102a-1bbf-558c-a095-b4dfed0405d4.html
Michael Sam will neither sit by the phone nor unplug it Saturday — the day of reckoning for his NFL career.
“You know what, I’m just gonna relax,” he said Thursday following the Rams’ 14-13 loss to Miami in their preseason finale. “I’m going back to my hometown, Columbia, see (the Missouri Tigers’) opening game against South Dakota State, and I’m not even going to worry about it.
“Whatever happens, happens. I’ll let the chips fall where they fall.”
Lots of chips fell Friday once the team returned to St. Louis from Florida. The Rams confirmed that they have made 17 cuts. Throw in the fact that wide receiver Stedman Bailey won’t count against the roster because of his four-game NFL suspension, and that leaves only four more players to be cut to reach the 53-man regular-season roster limit.
The Rams didn’t release those 17 names, but Sam’s name is not on the list. Neither is defensive end Ethan Westbrooks, who is Sam’s main competition for a spot on what figures to be one of the league’s top defensive lines in 2014.
Sam, in effect, has reached the “final four” (cuts) in his quest to become the NFL’s first openly gay player. If it doesn’t happen, Sam says he can look at himself in the mirror knowing he had done his best.
“Absolutely,” Sam said. “Absolutely. I did everything I could. Now it’s out of my hands. I’m at the NFL’s mercy’s; the coaches’ mercy. So we’ll wait.”
He’ll know his fate no later than 3 p.m. That’s when all 32 teams must be at the 53-man roster limit.
And what happens if Sam makes the Rams’ roster, and makes history in the process?
Well, there will be a celebration or sorts.
“Oh yeah, I’m gonna probably have a victory shot (of liquor), and a cigar,” he said, laughing.
After the Miami contest, Sam seemed as relaxed as he has been since being drafted late in the seventh round by the Rams last May. He seems at peace with himself.
From Tony Dungy saying he wouldn’t have drafted Sam, to Johnny Manziel saying Sam probably gets heckled all the time, to ESPN reporting on Sam’s “showering regimen,” he has kept his wits about him.
“Kept it about football,” Sam said. “That’s all that matters. I think I handled the situation very well, and I think I improved every week.”
Sam said he came out very relaxed against the Dolphins, a game in which unofficially he led all Rams in tackles with six.
“I wasn’t worried,” he said. “I was gonna have fun — have fun with the guys.”
The fun has ended for 17 of those guys, who learned Friday that they will be released by the team. By design, the Rams did not send in those names to the league in time to make the NFL’s Friday transactions list.
But according to a variety of league sources, here are 15 of those names.
On offense: QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Emory Blake, Austin Franklin and Justin Veltung; TE Brad Smelley; OLs Travis Bond, Sean Hooey and Mitchell Van Dyke.
On defense: DLs Kourtnei Brown and Deantre Harlan; LBs Aaron Hill, Etienne Sabino and Phillip Steward; DBs Avery Cunningham and Darren Woodard.
None of the moves is official until it shows up on the league transaction wire.
Gilbert (sixth round) and Van Dyke (seventh) were members of the Rams’ 2014 draft class. Gilbert could still end up on the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers Saturday, but his departure currently leaves the team with only two quarterbacks on the roster, Shaun Hill and Austin Davis.
Could that foreshadow a pickup elsewhere at quarterback, either via trade or the waiver wire?
The Rams have five tight ends still on their roster, an indication that the team is wrestling with whether to keep Alex Bayer or Justice Cunningham. They’re unlikely to keep both.
At wide receiver, the team is at five once the Bailey suspension begins, and they’ll take five into the regular season.
There are five running backs still standing. Trey Watts or Chase Reynolds could be in jeopardy if the team decides to keep just four, but coach Jeff Fisher did keep five last season.
After Friday’s cuts, the Rams have 10 offensive linemen, a group that includes Mike Person, Brandon Washington and the injured Barrett Jones. The team could free up an additional roster spot if it decides to place Jones on the injured reserve or IR/designated for return lists. Jones is coming off back surgery and is expected to miss several additional weeks.
On defense, the departures of Brown and Harlan leave 11 defensive linemen. One of them is defensive tackle Matt Conrath, who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury. The team could be working on an injury settlement there. And then, of course, there’s the matter of what to do with Sam and Westbrooks — keep them both or cut one?
At linebacker, the Rams are down to six. But it was unclear Friday night if Lawrence Wilson had made the team or if he would be released and the team was going with only five LBs.
And finally, in the secondary, the Rams are known to have 11 players. With cornerback Trumaine Johnson expected to miss at least another month with a knee injury, the Rams might be forced to keep an extra cornerback. Right now, they have seven (including cornerback and safety Lamarcus Joyner), so either Greg Reid or Marcus Roberson — or both — could be in jeopardy.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b9ad102a-1bbf-558c-a095-b4dfed0405d4.html
Michael Sam will neither sit by the phone nor unplug it Saturday — the day of reckoning for his NFL career.
“You know what, I’m just gonna relax,” he said Thursday following the Rams’ 14-13 loss to Miami in their preseason finale. “I’m going back to my hometown, Columbia, see (the Missouri Tigers’) opening game against South Dakota State, and I’m not even going to worry about it.
“Whatever happens, happens. I’ll let the chips fall where they fall.”
Lots of chips fell Friday once the team returned to St. Louis from Florida. The Rams confirmed that they have made 17 cuts. Throw in the fact that wide receiver Stedman Bailey won’t count against the roster because of his four-game NFL suspension, and that leaves only four more players to be cut to reach the 53-man regular-season roster limit.
The Rams didn’t release those 17 names, but Sam’s name is not on the list. Neither is defensive end Ethan Westbrooks, who is Sam’s main competition for a spot on what figures to be one of the league’s top defensive lines in 2014.
Sam, in effect, has reached the “final four” (cuts) in his quest to become the NFL’s first openly gay player. If it doesn’t happen, Sam says he can look at himself in the mirror knowing he had done his best.
“Absolutely,” Sam said. “Absolutely. I did everything I could. Now it’s out of my hands. I’m at the NFL’s mercy’s; the coaches’ mercy. So we’ll wait.”
He’ll know his fate no later than 3 p.m. That’s when all 32 teams must be at the 53-man roster limit.
And what happens if Sam makes the Rams’ roster, and makes history in the process?
Well, there will be a celebration or sorts.
“Oh yeah, I’m gonna probably have a victory shot (of liquor), and a cigar,” he said, laughing.
After the Miami contest, Sam seemed as relaxed as he has been since being drafted late in the seventh round by the Rams last May. He seems at peace with himself.
From Tony Dungy saying he wouldn’t have drafted Sam, to Johnny Manziel saying Sam probably gets heckled all the time, to ESPN reporting on Sam’s “showering regimen,” he has kept his wits about him.
“Kept it about football,” Sam said. “That’s all that matters. I think I handled the situation very well, and I think I improved every week.”
Sam said he came out very relaxed against the Dolphins, a game in which unofficially he led all Rams in tackles with six.
“I wasn’t worried,” he said. “I was gonna have fun — have fun with the guys.”
The fun has ended for 17 of those guys, who learned Friday that they will be released by the team. By design, the Rams did not send in those names to the league in time to make the NFL’s Friday transactions list.
But according to a variety of league sources, here are 15 of those names.
On offense: QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Emory Blake, Austin Franklin and Justin Veltung; TE Brad Smelley; OLs Travis Bond, Sean Hooey and Mitchell Van Dyke.
On defense: DLs Kourtnei Brown and Deantre Harlan; LBs Aaron Hill, Etienne Sabino and Phillip Steward; DBs Avery Cunningham and Darren Woodard.
None of the moves is official until it shows up on the league transaction wire.
Gilbert (sixth round) and Van Dyke (seventh) were members of the Rams’ 2014 draft class. Gilbert could still end up on the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers Saturday, but his departure currently leaves the team with only two quarterbacks on the roster, Shaun Hill and Austin Davis.
Could that foreshadow a pickup elsewhere at quarterback, either via trade or the waiver wire?
The Rams have five tight ends still on their roster, an indication that the team is wrestling with whether to keep Alex Bayer or Justice Cunningham. They’re unlikely to keep both.
At wide receiver, the team is at five once the Bailey suspension begins, and they’ll take five into the regular season.
There are five running backs still standing. Trey Watts or Chase Reynolds could be in jeopardy if the team decides to keep just four, but coach Jeff Fisher did keep five last season.
After Friday’s cuts, the Rams have 10 offensive linemen, a group that includes Mike Person, Brandon Washington and the injured Barrett Jones. The team could free up an additional roster spot if it decides to place Jones on the injured reserve or IR/designated for return lists. Jones is coming off back surgery and is expected to miss several additional weeks.
On defense, the departures of Brown and Harlan leave 11 defensive linemen. One of them is defensive tackle Matt Conrath, who has been sidelined with an undisclosed injury. The team could be working on an injury settlement there. And then, of course, there’s the matter of what to do with Sam and Westbrooks — keep them both or cut one?
At linebacker, the Rams are down to six. But it was unclear Friday night if Lawrence Wilson had made the team or if he would be released and the team was going with only five LBs.
And finally, in the secondary, the Rams are known to have 11 players. With cornerback Trumaine Johnson expected to miss at least another month with a knee injury, the Rams might be forced to keep an extra cornerback. Right now, they have seven (including cornerback and safety Lamarcus Joyner), so either Greg Reid or Marcus Roberson — or both — could be in jeopardy.
