Pead's time comes to an end with Rams
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_fc7353da-dfe5-557c-8db6-808219dbee0d.html
As the Rams drafted running back after running back the past couple of years, the demise of Isaiah Pead has seemed almost inevitable for some time. On Tuesday it happened, with the team releasing the second-round pick out of Cincinnati in the 2012 draft.
“Difficult decision,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “Isaiah did a phenomenal job coming back off the injury. But with Todd (Gurley) now coming up and the potential for some other moves, we just felt it was the best decision for us.
“So we just really appreciate him and hope that he’s gonna be available — we can turn to him if we need him (in the future). But we need to make some roster moves as we move forward.”
Running back Trey Watts is eligible to return from his four-game NFL suspension following this week’s game at Arizona. In addition, running back Chase Reynolds — who’s one of the team’s top special teams players — might return from his MCL knee injury as early as the Green Bay game Oct. 11.
So with Gurley making his NFL debut Sunday against Pittsburgh, and Tre Mason back up to speed after missing the season opener with a hamstring injury, the Rams were facing a glut of running backs.
Even with just Gurley’s return against the Steelers, Pead was on the team’s pre-game inactive list for that game.
The former Big East offensive player of the year never could translate his college success into the NFL. His totals as a Ram included only 19 carries for 78 yards, and 14 catches for 94 yards. Pead also saw spot duty as a kickoff returner, returning 18 kicks for 413 yards, a 22.9-yard average.
All told, he played in 27 games for St. Louis, with one start (against Washington in 2012).
He missed the entire 2014 season after suffering a knee injury in the Rams’ second preseason game of that summer, against Green Bay, and was suspended for the first game of 2013 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
This season, Pead showed some life with a strong showing in the preseason finale against Kansas City, rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Some observers thought that was the best he’d looked running the football since the knee injury.
With Gurley and Mason sidelined for the season opener against Seattle, Pead suddenly found himself with his best opportunity for playing time in a couple of years.
As Fisher mentioned, he had worked hard to come back from the knee injury, and had even discarded the knee brace before the Rams’ third preseason game, against Indianapolis. It looked like his perseverance just might pay off.
“I’m a hard worker regardless of any situation,” Pead said prior to the Seattle game. “I’m gonna come with a good mentality to anything. I’ve got faith in myself, big faith in God, and my team has faith in me more than anything.”
But things went awry when a lost fumble by Pead deep in Seattle territory helped get the Seahawks back in the game. That turned out to be his last carry as a Ram.
Pead’s demise leaves the Rams with five players left from the RGIII trade and assorted spinoff trades: defensive tackle Michael Brockers, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Alec Olgletree, wide receiver Stedman Bailey, and offensive tackle Greg Robinson.
Gone are running back Zac Stacy, offensive guard Rokevious Watkins, and now Pead.
Pead was the fourth running back taken in the 2012 draft, behind Trent Richardson, David Wilson, and Doug Martin. The Rams had the 45th overall pick that year but traded down with Chicago to No. 50 overall to take Pead in the second round. The Rams used the fifth-round pick they got from Chicago on Watkins.
The moved proved costly, because Seattle grabbed linebacker Bobby Wagner — whom the Rams were interested in — at No. 47 overall.
In Pead’s rookie season of 2012, Steven Jackson was in his final year as a starter but seventh-round rookie Daryl Richardson beat out Pead for the No. 2 spot. With Jackson gone in 2013, Richardson began the year as the starter, but Fisher then went with Zac Stacy after four games instead of Pead.
The arrival of Mason in 2014, Gurley in ’15, and the continued development of undrafted Benny Cunningham, and to a lesser extent Watts, put Pead way down on the depth chart entering this season.
Pead has been replaced on the active roster with cornerback Brandon McGee, who was promoted from the practice squad. Wide receiver Nick Toon was added to the practice.
“I woke (Tuesday) to a call from my agent,” said McGee, a fifth-round pick by the Rams in 2013 out of Miami (Fla.). “That was pretty cool, I wasn’t expecting that at all, honestly. It’s a blessing to be here, and be back in a position where you’re able to help the team.”
McGee played in 15 games as a rookie, but only two since then, largely because of a nagging foot injury.
More specifically it was a plantar fascia injury involving the heel and arch of the foot; McGee said he kept tearing scar tissue from the originally injury, leading to setbacks.
“I definitely feel like I’m better than I was previously,” said McGee, who could help on special teams.
Meanwhile, Toon isn’t your average practice squad pickup. A fourth-round pick by New Orleans in 2012 out of Wisconsin, Toon had 21 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown during his time with the Saints, including five starts. He’s the son of former New York Jets wide receiver Al Toon.
Fisher said the Rams looked at Toon coming out of Wisconsin and talked to him at the NFL Scouting Combine that year. Toon was sidelined by a high ankle sprain this preseason with the Saints before his release.
“I’m good to go; feel good and ready to roll,” Toon said. “I’m excited to be here. Excited to get started.”