Rams News Recap: March 17

[RamBill]

Rams Give Fairley a Big Incentive to Stay in Shape
There are half a million reasons why new defensive tackle Nick Fairley should be in shape for the Rams entering training camp.

Rams Made Right Decision with Bradford, Even if He Succeeds with Eagles –Stalter
Hop into the DeLorean… we’re taking a trip into the future. It’s January, 2016 and the regular season in the NFL has just concluded. The playoffs are about to start and there’s Sam Bradford, preparing to lead the Eagles to their second wild card appearance in the past three years.

Pillar of Success: Barrett Jones –Simmons
The state of Alabama is crazy about college football — of that fact, there is no doubt — and the University of Alabama has long been at the center of it.

Bernie: Stunning Early NFL Retirements are a Warning
A while back, I brushed off a far-out theory espoused by those who believe the NFL was headed to big trouble in the future.

Free-Agency Review: Rams –Wagoner
Most significant signing: The St. Louis Rams signed four players during the opening week, and the sum of those moves is greater than any of the single parts.

Breaking Down Nick Fairley’s Contract with the Rams –Wagoner
The St. Louis Rams struck a one-year deal with defensive tackle Nick Fairley last Friday, adding him to an already extensive mix of talent on the defensive line.

Charley Casserly Talks Rams Offseason –Audio

Nick Foles looks forward to fresh start –Wagoner
n what would turn out to be one of the last four games quarterback Nick Foles would play for the Philadelphia Eagles before being traded to the St. Louis Rams, Foles’ Eagles jumped out to a commanding 34-7 lead late in the third quarter.

Reports: Browns offered 19th pick to Rams for Sam Bradford –ESPN
The Cleveland Browns made a serious offer to the St. Louis Rams to acquire quarterback Sam Bradford, according to two reports.

Morning Ram-blings: Are Rams ‘There’? –Wagoner
I didn’t get a chance to get to this late last week but ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates wrote a piece on Friday that focused on how close (or not close) the St. Louis Rams are to being legit contenders in the NFC West division after making the bold quarterback trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rams Owner Set On Moving Team To L.A. –Video

Jim Thomas Talks Foles, Rams –Audio

Rob Rang: Are First Round Picks Overrated? –Video

 

[DaveFan'51]

WOW! Nick Fairly is going to earn $500,000.00 Just for showing up in Training camp and working-out! Good Gig!

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: The MLS and St. Louis
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17150/morning-ram-blings-the-mls-and-st-louis

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- One of the more overlooked elements of the St. Louis stadium proposal is the potential for the stadium to host something other than professional football.

Included in the proposal is the possibility of bringing a Major League Soccer expansion franchise to St. Louis. Similar plans have worked well in places like Seattle and part of the new stadium going up in Atlanta for the Falcons also includes a forthcoming MLS team.

The St. Louis Stadium Task Force recently fired up a Twitter account to keep fans apprised of its progress and a website to go with it. Earlier this week, they posted an article discussing the potential of finally bringing professional soccer to the Gateway City.

The article includes a quote from task force leader Dave Peacock on the possibility of the MLS expanding beyond its current 24 teams with the possibility of Minnesota being included and discussions of St. Louis being added to the mix expected to take place later this year. Another Minnesota group backed by the Vikings, San Antonio, Las Vegas and Sacramento are also expected to be in the discussion.

Clearly, the NFL is the primary objective of the new stadium proposal but the MLS is a nice carrot for the task force to bring to the mix for a few reasons. Perhaps most important, proving that the nearly-billion dollar project would be able to offer more consistent events beyond 10 football games every year could be beneficial in proving its benefit should public votes take place.

There's still a long way to go but anything that can increase the stadium's appeal in the eyes of the public and/or the NFL certainly can't hurt St. Louis' chances.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Tuesday's St. Louis Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... The Ram-blings began the day with a look at whether the Rams' big trade moves them closer to contender status. ... We then recapped the first week of free agency for the Rams. ... Nick Foles is happy to have a fresh start in St. Louis. ... Breaking down new defensive tackle Nick Fairley's one-year contract with the Rams.

Elsewhere:

ESPN the Magazine's David Fleming discusses Rams owner Stan Kroenke's desire to move the team to Los Angeles.

Lots of free agency discussion courtesy of the guys from NFL Nation TV.

The free-agent wire provides the latest from around the league.

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz writes that the Rams must find ways to protect Foles.

Jim Thomas offers a look at why tight end Lance Kendricks stayed in St. Louis.

At 101sports.com, Anthony Stalter writes that the decision to trade Sam Bradford for Foles was right no matter what the future outcome yields for Bradford.