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2015 St. Louis Rams: First Round Of Cuts To 75-Man Roster Show Who's Got A Shot At The 53-Man

The 75-man roster cuts aren't just about who the Rams let go. They're also about who made it through with a chance to make the 53-man.

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams are down to their 75-man roster with 22 more cuts to come before the Saturday, 5pm ET deadline.

The cuts not only cleared out some of the back of the roster ahead of Thursday's home game against the Kansas City Chiefs. They also signified who still has a shot at making the final roster with a huge platform to showcase their skills in two days.

Here are the big roster battles:

QB

So it's starting to shape up for an Austin Davis cut here. It's really one of front office mismanagement, but I'll get to that later today or soon or not. In any case, it's a move to begin to expect with Case Keenum the likely third man in with Sean Mannion aboard to backup Nick Foles.

RB

The entire group made it through. Hell at this point, the Rams might sign another two running backs to bring on board for the season.

WR

Emory Blake and Bradley Marquez made it through, but the hope is dim. The Rams went five-wide at WR a year ago and will likely do so again this year with Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt, Chris Givens and Brian Quick all returning along with Stedman Bailey taking Austin Pettis' week one roster spot.

TE/FB

Smelley's out, so you've got the 2015 five plus Zach Laskey. I expect Laskey to head to the practice squad, but I also wouldn't be surprised at all if Alex Bayer is clipped to add depth elsewhere. Justice Cunningham has picked up a reserve role behind Cory Harkey, so I don't think he's removable.

OL

It's a tough group to parse. Steven Baker, Travis Bond and David Wang were the first to go, but not the last. The Chiefs game is going to be huge here especially with Demetrius Rhaney at RG and Garrett Reynolds at LG as reserve options via practice yesterday.

DL

Doug Worthington's injury made the decision easier, but this is another difficult group to feel out ahead of the Chiefs game. There's a question of quantity for the 53-man for both lines having gone with nine for each a year ago.

LB

Keshaun Malone and Korey Toomer are out. Bryce Hager, Cameron Lynch and Marshall McFadden are in...for now. It's not certain any of the three make it past Saturday, but there might be room for one of them with Bates still dealing with a knee injury.

DB

Imoan Claiborne and Jay Hughes in one fell swoop. Ouch.

At cornerback, that leaves Montell Garner, Brandon McGee and Trovon Reed fighting for the fifth slot. Thursday, folks.

Safety-wise, it's crowded. Last year, the Rams started with four safeties (Maurice Alexander, Cody Davis, T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod) and added Mark Barron mid-stream. Toss in Christian Bryant and Jacob Hagen, and the Rams can be flexible here.

ST

Daniel Rodriguez, FTW. Wouldn't have a problem if Fish let him stay on the 53-man and come out of the tunnel in uniform with a giant American flag every damn Sunday.

I'll have a 53-man roster projection up before the game, but suffice to say the 75-man cuts didn't answer a ton of questions. They just removed some of the answers.