EARTH CITY, Mo. --
St. Louis Rams rookie wide receiver
Bud Sasser's career with the team is over before it ever got started.
According to league sources, the Rams plan to release Sasser on Thursday afternoon because of a pre-existing heart condition. After multiple tests, he was not physically cleared to play. Sasser will be waived with a non-football related illness designation.
The Rams signed Sasser to his rookie contract Tuesday and he will receive his signing bonus of $113,737.
Sasser took the required physicals from the team before last month's rookie orientation but wasn't cleared at that time. Sasser has since sought multiple opinions, but none cleared him to play.
During the orientation, Sasser said he hoped to get his clearance in the coming weeks.
"It's a little frustrating, just have to wait for this whole physical thing to go through and that's all I can do is just wait," Sasser said then. "That's for them, their whole staff to be looking at that. I have to play the waiting game. I'm just waiting on the physical at this point."
The Rams used a sixth-round choice on Sasser in this year's NFL draft but he never had the opportunity to participate in so much as a single practice. He sat out the team's rookie orientation and was not present for the start of the team's organized activities that began Tuesday.
Sasser played at the University of Missouri, where he had 77 catches for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2014. Despite that production, he was not invited to participate in the NFL scouting combine or any of the postseason all-star games.
Coach Jeff Fisher is scheduled to speak to the media later Thursday afternoon.
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