By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Jul. 26 2006
The days have dwindled to one, and
Tye Hill's name has yet to be affixed to a
Rams contract. No need to panic, the team's first-round draft choice assured.
"I'm not worried at all," Hill, a cornerback from Clemson, said Tuesday. "It'll
get done."
Technically, training camp opens at 1 p.m. today, when the players gather at
Rams Park for a team meeting. Realistically, the deadline for Hill and the two
other draft choices who also haven't signed is 9:35 a.m. Thursday, the start of
the first practice.
"We're working hard," said Doug Hendrickson, Hill's California-based agent.
"There's nothing close right now, but we're talking. We hope to get something
done in time before camp, although we definitely want a fair deal."
Asked to assess the odds of Hill being in attendance Thursday morning,
Hendrickson said, "I feel pretty confident, to be honest with you. We
understand the importance of getting guys in on time."
As does first-year head coach Scott Linehan, who said it's especially crucial
for a defensive back. "I think it's really hard for a secondary player to miss
time, based on all the adjustments you've got to make," he said. "A secondary
guy, he misses a week of training camp, he's looking for the most confusing
time of his life."
Hill agreed. "It's important; I want to be on top of everything."
Three more are signed
Three more draft picks signed Tuesday, so seven of 10 have joined the fold.
Defensive lineman
Claude Wroten, a third-round choice out of Louisiana State,
got a four-year deal. Tight end
Dominique Byrd, a third-rounder from Southern
California, and wide receiver Marques Hagans, a fifth-round pick from Virginia,
signed for three years. Details were not disclosed.
In addition to Hill, only tight end
Joe Klopfenstein of Colorado (second round)
and linebacker Jon Alston of Stanford (third) remain unsigned.
Smoker is released
Jeff Smoker became the odd man out in the Rams' quarterback glut when he was
released Tuesday. That means four QBs will be on hand for the start of camp:
starter
Marc Bulger, backup Gus Frerotte, and Ryan Fitzpatrick and Dave Ragone,
who will fight it out for the No. 3 job.
The Rams drafted Smoker in the sixth round out of Michigan State in 2004. He
was the No. 3 quarterback that year, then was released and re-signed twice last
season.
"It really would've helped him if he had gotten himself to NFL Europe," Linehan
said. "That just helps give you a feel for how a guy can play."
Fitzpatrick, a Harvard product, was a seventh-round draftee in 2005. He played
in four games with three starts last year after Bulger and Jamie Martin were
injured. Ragone, a lefty who played in two games during three seasons with the
Houston Texans, came June 20 from Cincinnati for a seventh-round pick in 2007.