It's a done deal with Little, as jroman pointed out in the comments to yesterday's post. I'll admit that I was reconciled to the Rams cutting him outright, knowing that they could take an NFL-ready DE in the first round of the draft or possibly through free agency. And at his age, 34, his role will be increasingly limited by the physical strains the game puts on the body. If the Rams switch to a 3-4 defense and move Little to LB, as has been discussed, would that save some wear and tear? (I get the Xs and Os, but I have no idea if a LB or DE has greater longevity, anyone have an idea?) To keep Little healthy and productive, I suspect they'll have to limit his reps, a move that helped La'Roi Glover considerably last season. Also working in Little's favor is the fact that last season it was a toe injury that sidelined him, not something with a long-term debilitating impact, like say a torn ACL. That's fine, and his new contract fits that role better. If the Rams take a DE (or even a DT) with the second overall pick, they would have an impressive amount of depth on the d-line, tops in the division for sure.

In the same comments thread, the rumor that the Rams are cutting Gus Frerotte was also reported. Fine. Nothing personal, but $2 million in cap space for a backup QB was money that could be used elsewhere for more pressing needs. It's been rumored that Al Saunders would like to bring in 36-year-old former Redskins backup Todd Collins, who knows his offensive system. According to a recent update at Rotoworld, the Falcons and Jaguars are also interested in Collins, with the Falcons offering him the opportunity at least to start. If it turns into a bidding war, surely they won't pony up silly money for his services... There's always Brock Berlin.

As for Bruce, all we can do is guess at this point, but we'll know soon. There's going to be a lot of news, i suspect, in the next 48 hours, so stay tuned, we'll follow it and try to make sense of it as it happens. If you hear anything on the web, local radio, at the water cooler, be sure to post it in the comments or a diary.

Update [2008-2-28 10:35:23 by VanRam]:In his PD online forum, Bernie Miklasz stated that Shaw told him the decision on Bruce is "up in the air" and that management was "agonizing" over the situation and speaking with his manager. Obviously, Bruce's willingness to restructure his contract will have a lot to do with what he feels he could get on the open market from teams looking for a proven vet to bolster the depth of their receiving corps.

Update [2008-2-28 11:33:33 by VanRam]:The Rams should be able to sign a guard through free agency. In addition to the possibilities we talked about yesterday - Bell and Hadnot - there's word that the Rams are interested in Niners free agent guard Justin Smiley. They'll be competing with the Dolphins, Bengals and Raiders according to the rumor. There's also a rumor floating that the Jets have already worked out a proposed deal for super free agent guard Alan Faneca that would pay him a guaranteed $20 million.