And then there were 53. The Rams made their final round of cuts yesterday. No big surprises.
Depth behind the starters looms as the Rams biggest red flag heading into the season. That saved a few players who otherwise might not have made the cut, like David Vobora. With Fakhir Brown hurting, I was mildly surprised to see Darius Vinnett go; I felt like he had a decent camp. However, the Rams probably need a solid veteran to back up that group. Watch for something to happen on the waiver wire today.
Defensive end C.J. Ah You had tied for the third most tackles in the preseason and had a good camp. He should be a lock for the practice squad, which will be decided this evening and into tomorrow as the team offers unclaimed players contracts for the practice squad.
Back to the d-backs. The Rams have 8 on their roster now. That includes: Atogwe, Chavous, Todd Johnson and Eric Bassey at safety and Brown, Hill, Bartell and Wade at corner. If they do add another d-back, they'll have to trim a position elsewhere. With Jackson back, 6 running backs on the roster is probably one too many (they've got Jackson, Pittman, Minor, Leonard, Dan Krieder and Richard Owens), especially if camp standout Lance Ball gets signed to the practice squad.
One possibility for a late summer pickup at CB, Fernando Bryant. The Patriots brought the 10-year vet in as part of the competition to replace Asante Samuel. Bryant had 2 INTs with the Lions last season and 69 tackles. He had 6 tackles playing the Pats first team in the preseason, and he can play ST. The Giants kept both Madison and McQuarters who we mentioned as possibilities yesterday.
Linebacker is another position where the Rams could add some help.