Will Witherspoon, cowboy

When the St. Louis Rams signed free agent linebacker Will Witherspoon, it was billed as a homecoming of sorts. Witherspoon, of course, played for the Rams before, from 2006 to the middle of the 2009 season. He also spent some time in Tennessee playing for Jeff Fisher. But, in a way, he never really left Missouri after his first stint here.

Witherspoon owns the Shire Gate Farm, a 900-acre cattle ranch about an hour and a half southwest of St. Louis.

He talked about his ranch recently:

"I started that in 2006 when I was here and bought the property and got in the cattle business," Witherspoon said. "It was about 180 acres and I've grown it 900 acres or so. I keep about 200 head of cattle. We produce grass-fed beef."

Local connoisseurs of grass-fed beef (it really is better) will see products from Shire Gate on store shelves soon.

"We've got some products coming out. Hopefully, we'll see it on the shelves soon. In the last couple of offseasons, I've (gone to) food shows to understand what people want, what retailers want. I try to see the whole picture from hoof to plate."

'Spoon also talked about rookie Alec Ogletree in the interview.

"I think mentoring him is a big part in my job here. I talk with him about his skill set and what he can do better. We all can see he's got a lot of talent and a lot of great ability. He's just got to put it all in the right place. Raw is the best way to put it. College kids are always raw."

Raw isn't always a bad thing. The energy that comes with a young player trying to prove something can be an asset. Raw beef isn't always a bad thing either, beef tartar, steak sashimi ... mmmm.