It's been a whirlwind afternoon for the St. Louis Rams. They decided to pass on a veteran receiver, a new owner could be approved and rookie QB Sam Bradford is expected to sign any day now. Let's review.
The Rams brass met today to discuss their level of interest in Terrell Owens, and decided not to pursue the free agent wide receiver with a contract offer. On one hand, a veteran receiver, a guy who knows the routes would have been a nice addition, especially for a rookie QB. Owens would in no way have been the #1 WR he once was, but he might have been a nice complement to the receiving corps, a way to take some pressure off Avery and RB Steven Jackson. Of course, considering how much he had left and the kind of money the Rams would have likely had to offer probably didn't make much sense. The PD report states the Rams' interest was never as great as implied yesterday, so this might have been Rosenhaus using the situation for leverage. The team is sticking with their belief in the current crop of receivers, which Devaney reiterated with this statement to Fox Sports:
I know it sounds crazy because they’re not household names. We may not have that real famous No. 1 go-to guy right now. But as a group, they have a chance to be pretty good. We’ve got a lot of guys who can be real solid NFL players. It’s not like we’re gnashing our teeth saying, ‘If we don’t have T.O., we’re screwed.’ Not even close.
In better news, the Rams' ownership situation could be resolved by the end of August. League owners are expected to vote on Stan Kroenke's bid for the remaining 60 percent of the team at an Aug. 25 meeting. Settling the uncertainly around that will be a huge boost for the organization, letting us all get on with the future. I can't imagine that there is anything preventing Kroenke's approval. He's exactly the kind of owner the league wants.
GM Billy Devaney told Fox Sports that he expects the Rams to reach an agreement with QB Sam Bradford prior to Thursday, when camp starts for rookies. Actually, he said that there is a "really good chance," but whose going to argue semantics?
If they're potentially that close with Bradford, it's reasonable to expect a deal with second round pick OT Rodger Saffold any moment now.