Return to sender

With the draft come and gone, the next to circle on the calendar is June 1, when the next round of roster cuts happen. Granted, June 1 ain't what it used to be; teams tend to have their cap issues sorted out ahead of time. The days of big names being dumped by their teams and chased by others are mostly over. Now that we've downplayed expectations, that doesn't mean June 1 will roll around without news of some cuts here and there.

As far as adding players, it's probably not worth more than a cursory look at your news aggregator to see who's out there on June 1 that might be of interest to the Rams.

The big question for the Rams on June 1 will be whether or not they keep Dante Hall. Hall's due $1.9 million, and because the Rams acquired him via trade, they're not on the hook for any bonus money that cause a cap hit if they cut him.

Why would they cut Hall?  Hall's had a great career, but he's long in the tooth and spent a good part of last season dealing with injuries. With resigning Steven Jackson and O.J. Atogwe on the Rams to do list, saving $2 million becomes a big deal.

More importantly, they jsut don't beed him. Last year, rookie Dereck Stanley proved himself to be a more than suitable replacement for Hall. Stanley accrued 509 yards on 20 kick returns - in just the last three games of the season. He did have plenty of opportunities to return kicks in those games though as opponents scored a total of 122 points in those last three games. 17 of his 20 returns were for 20 yards or more, with his longest run being 49 yards.

The two receivers the Rams drafted this weekend, Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton, are both speedy players that change directions well and could be pressed into return duty.