Good morning Rams fans. It's a busy week, one day after the first round of roster cuts, preseasons wraps up tomorrow night. Right after that the St. Louis Rams have to have their final roster turned in by Saturday.
First, it's hard to say just how interested the Rams are in Vincent Jackson, and just how interested the Chargers are in trading him. Jackson has to sign his RFA tender by Sep. 4, cut down day, or else miss another three games on top of the three he'll miss for a substance policy violation. The Rams, or any team, wouldn't have him on the field until at least Oct. 3, week 4. That's when the Rams take on the Seahawks for the first time this season. They play the Chargers in week 6.
UPDATE: ESPN's Chris Mortensen says count the Rams out of the Vincent Jackson talks. That won't stop the rumor mill. Mort was the one, if you'll recall, that had the Rams hot and heavy on the heels of Terrell Owens, even though the team's interest was minimal.
As encouraged as we all are by Sam Bradford's starting debut, head coach Steve Spagnuolo is keeping it all in perspective, reminding everyone that consistency is the key to greatness in the NFL.
Lots of good stuff from Jim Thomas at the PD. In his chat with readers yesterday, he noted that the recently released RB Derrick Ward might make some sense for the Rams.
Keep in mind, during the free agency period following the '08 season _ Spags' first offseason with the team _ he called Ward during free agency to see if he'd be interested in coming here.
Ward didn't want to be a backup, but he might not have a choice at this point. He was squarely in the dog house in Tampa Bay, and the coaches took him to task for being out of shape during camp.
The Rams aren't the only team with injuries at WR. This week's opponent, the Ravens, will be without Mark Clayton and Donte Stallworth. It seems like there are a lot of big ticket injuries this preseason. Makes you wonder about adding two regular season games and forcing fans to watch more of their team's starting players get injured.