By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/04/2007
Claude Terrell is on his way to St. Louis for the Rams’ offseason conditioning program. Terrell’s agent, Kennard McGuire, just can’t say when.
"He’s been in constant contact with the organization," McGuire told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday. "He has some family situations that he has to resolve. He had some things that were unexpected that he had to take care of."
By the end of this week, Terrell will have missed the first three weeks of the Rams’ offseason conditioning program. If there’s anyone who needs to show the coaching staff that he’s committed to playing football, it’s Terrell. A pleasant surprise during his rookie season of 2005, Terrell started 10 games at left guard, showing particular acumen as a run blocker.
But a wrist injury sabotaged Terrell’s 2006 season. Terrell sent out confusing signals about whether he was going to have wrist surgery. Once he was placed on the injured reserve list last Aug. 28, Terrell was rarely seen at Rams Park. By all accounts, Terrell had worked his way into coach Scott Linehan’s doghouse. But at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, Linehan said he was willing to wipe the slate clean and give Terrell a fresh start on the 2007 season.
But then came the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program on March 19, with Terrell a no-show.
"He’s coming in (for the offseason program) as soon as he can," McGuire said. "As soon as he gets things squared away, St. Louis is his first trip."
McGuire said Terrell’s wrist is fine.
Play dough
The three-year contract signed by free-agent linebacker Chris Draft is for $4.28 million. It includes a $1.3 million signing bonus and base salaries of $720,000 in ’07, $830,000 in ’08, and $1.225 million in ’09. The deal also includes offseason workout bonuses of $100,000 in both ’08 and ’09.
The one-year contract signed by cornerback Mike Rumph is worth $595,000, with no signing bonus.
Latest figures from the NFL Players Association shows the Rams with $8.6 million of cap space.
Walls signs
Cornerback Lenny Walls, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Rams nearly two weeks ago, finally signed the contract Wednesday.
Byrd update
Tight end
Dominique Byrd pled not guilty on March 28 to driving under the influence and unlicensed driver charges in Los Angeles. Byrd has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for April 26.