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Has Tre Mason played his last game for the Rams?
Mark Inabinett
[www.al.com]
Running back Tre Mason's NFL career got off to a promising start. But after two seasons, he seems at a crossroads in his professional career, perhaps even a dead end after Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams "have to prepare ourselves that Tre's not going to be here."
After he set an Auburn single-season rushing record in 2013, Mason went to the St. Louis Rams with the 75th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Mason didn't play in the Rams' first four games of his rookie season, then led the team in rushing in each of the remaining 12 games.
Mason finished with 765 yards and four touchdowns on 179 rushing attempts and caught 16 passes for 148 yards and one TD. The performance earned Mason a spot on the 2014 All-Rookie team.
But when the Rams used the 10th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Mason took a back seat.
It wasn't supposed to be that way initially. Coming off knee surgery, Gurley wasn't ready when his rookie season started. But neither was Mason, who missed the Rams' 2015 season-opener with a hamstring injury.
Mason returned for the second game of the season. But Gurley made his debut in the third game, and the next week, he ran for 146 yards in an upset of the Arizona Cardinals.
Gurley finished his rookie season with 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns on 229 carries. Mason wound up with 207 yards and one TD on 75 carries – an average of 2.8 yards per carry, 2 yards short of Gurley's average.
Those might have been Mason's last carries for the Rams, who moved to Los Angeles in the offseason.
Mason did not participate in the Rams' offseason program. Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher said Mason has been "excused for personal reasons" after the running back was arrested on March 5 in Hollywood, Fla.
At a press conference during the Rams' Organized Team Activities in Oxnard, Calif., earlier this month, Fisher was asked if Mason's absence had jumbled Los Angeles' depth chart at running back.
"No, it's settled right now," Fisher said. "I'm pleased with where it's going. Malcolm (Brown)'s done a great job there as the third, and Chase (Reynolds) is always a guy that you can count on. And we have a couple young guys that we're going to let play. In our minds, we just have to prepare ourselves that Tre's not going to be here."
Los Angeles has Benny Cunningham as its No. 2 running back right now. He ran for 140 yards on 37 carries and served as the Rams' kickoff returner last season. Like the other four running backs behind Gurley at OTAs, Cunningham was not drafted.
So could the Rams afford to part ways with Mason?
Financially, yes. Mason signed a four-year, $2,980,938 contract when he joined the NFL. But the only money guaranteed in the deal was the signing bonus of $637,500. According to the sports financial web site spotrac.com, Mason would count $318,750 against the Rams' salary cap in 2016 if he were released – not much of a hit in the world of "dead money."
Mason was arrested on March 5 after a traffic stop. According to the police report, Mason would not identify himself after being pulled over for going 75 mph in a 35-mph zone, and he would not get out his car when asked to do so. A Taser was used to remove Mason from his car, and he was tased again before being taken to a hospital.
Mason was charged with four misdemeanors -- resisting an officer/obstruction without violence, reckless driving, failure to register a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana in an amount less than 20 grams. Mason also was cited for failure to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle.
From initially being pulled over for driving too fast, Los Angeles Rams running back Tre Mason wound up being tased twice by Hollywood (Fla.) Police officers. How could an incident that resulted in charges of two misdemeanors and two traffic offenses turn into that for the former Auburn football star?
An arrest warrant was issued for Mason when he was not present for his arraignment on April 11. Attorney H.T. Smith Jr. of Miami cleared up the matter three days later when he entered a not-guilty plea for Mason at a rescheduled arraignment. Smith told the court the notice of the arraignment had been mailed to an old address of Mason's, and the running back didn't have representation at that time.
In May, Smith requested a continuance from the County Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, telling the court "the defense has not been able to complete its investigation and preparation for trial." The calendar call for Mason's trial has been set for July 28, according to the Broward County Clerk of Courts web site.
A calendar call is when the parties (or their lawyers) involved in a case tell the court if they are ready to proceed to trial. If they are, the court sets a date.
The Rams will be the featured team on the annual HBO series "Hard Knocks" when training camp starts in about five weeks, which could put Mason's situation in the national spotlight.
Mark Inabinett
[www.al.com]
Running back Tre Mason's NFL career got off to a promising start. But after two seasons, he seems at a crossroads in his professional career, perhaps even a dead end after Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher said the Rams "have to prepare ourselves that Tre's not going to be here."
After he set an Auburn single-season rushing record in 2013, Mason went to the St. Louis Rams with the 75th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Mason didn't play in the Rams' first four games of his rookie season, then led the team in rushing in each of the remaining 12 games.
Mason finished with 765 yards and four touchdowns on 179 rushing attempts and caught 16 passes for 148 yards and one TD. The performance earned Mason a spot on the 2014 All-Rookie team.
But when the Rams used the 10th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft on Georgia running back Todd Gurley, Mason took a back seat.
It wasn't supposed to be that way initially. Coming off knee surgery, Gurley wasn't ready when his rookie season started. But neither was Mason, who missed the Rams' 2015 season-opener with a hamstring injury.
Mason returned for the second game of the season. But Gurley made his debut in the third game, and the next week, he ran for 146 yards in an upset of the Arizona Cardinals.
Gurley finished his rookie season with 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns on 229 carries. Mason wound up with 207 yards and one TD on 75 carries – an average of 2.8 yards per carry, 2 yards short of Gurley's average.
Those might have been Mason's last carries for the Rams, who moved to Los Angeles in the offseason.
Mason did not participate in the Rams' offseason program. Los Angeles coach Jeff Fisher said Mason has been "excused for personal reasons" after the running back was arrested on March 5 in Hollywood, Fla.
At a press conference during the Rams' Organized Team Activities in Oxnard, Calif., earlier this month, Fisher was asked if Mason's absence had jumbled Los Angeles' depth chart at running back.
"No, it's settled right now," Fisher said. "I'm pleased with where it's going. Malcolm (Brown)'s done a great job there as the third, and Chase (Reynolds) is always a guy that you can count on. And we have a couple young guys that we're going to let play. In our minds, we just have to prepare ourselves that Tre's not going to be here."
Los Angeles has Benny Cunningham as its No. 2 running back right now. He ran for 140 yards on 37 carries and served as the Rams' kickoff returner last season. Like the other four running backs behind Gurley at OTAs, Cunningham was not drafted.
So could the Rams afford to part ways with Mason?
Financially, yes. Mason signed a four-year, $2,980,938 contract when he joined the NFL. But the only money guaranteed in the deal was the signing bonus of $637,500. According to the sports financial web site spotrac.com, Mason would count $318,750 against the Rams' salary cap in 2016 if he were released – not much of a hit in the world of "dead money."
Mason was arrested on March 5 after a traffic stop. According to the police report, Mason would not identify himself after being pulled over for going 75 mph in a 35-mph zone, and he would not get out his car when asked to do so. A Taser was used to remove Mason from his car, and he was tased again before being taken to a hospital.
Mason was charged with four misdemeanors -- resisting an officer/obstruction without violence, reckless driving, failure to register a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana in an amount less than 20 grams. Mason also was cited for failure to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle.
From initially being pulled over for driving too fast, Los Angeles Rams running back Tre Mason wound up being tased twice by Hollywood (Fla.) Police officers. How could an incident that resulted in charges of two misdemeanors and two traffic offenses turn into that for the former Auburn football star?
An arrest warrant was issued for Mason when he was not present for his arraignment on April 11. Attorney H.T. Smith Jr. of Miami cleared up the matter three days later when he entered a not-guilty plea for Mason at a rescheduled arraignment. Smith told the court the notice of the arraignment had been mailed to an old address of Mason's, and the running back didn't have representation at that time.
In May, Smith requested a continuance from the County Court of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, telling the court "the defense has not been able to complete its investigation and preparation for trial." The calendar call for Mason's trial has been set for July 28, according to the Broward County Clerk of Courts web site.
A calendar call is when the parties (or their lawyers) involved in a case tell the court if they are ready to proceed to trial. If they are, the court sets a date.
The Rams will be the featured team on the annual HBO series "Hard Knocks" when training camp starts in about five weeks, which could put Mason's situation in the national spotlight.
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