TOLD YOU GENERAL COUNSEL :-)
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Sep. 05 2004
On a day largely spent trimming players from their
roster, the Rams made one
big addition. Offensive tackle
Orlando Pace signed his
one-year tender as a
franchise player Sunday evening and is expected to be
on the practice field
this afternoon.
After signing the one-year, $7.02 million contract,
Pace huddled almost
immediately with offensive line coach John Matsko,
trying to get up to speed
just seven days before the regular-season opener
against Arizona.
Seeking a long-term contract, Pace stayed away from
all team activities for the
second consecutive offseason, including minicamp and
training camp in Macomb,
Ill. This time, he took it one step further - missing
all four exhibition games
as well. Last season, he played in the fourth
preseason game after signing the
one-year franchise player tender.
Reached earlier on Sunday, Pace agent Carl Poston
sounded anything but
optimistic about Pace's return.
"I've encouraged him to come in," Poston said. "I've
instructed him to sign the
one-year tender. But I can't make the big fellow come
in. He's frustrated with
the team."
But something must have happened to shake loose the
stalemate during several
phone conversations over the weekend between Poston
and Rams president of
football operations Jay Zygmunt. Pace arrived at Rams
Park and signed the
tender at about 6:30 p.m.
Zygmunt confirmed Sunday evening that Pace had signed
the contract, but he
declined further comment.
Barring any setback on the practice field this week,
Pace will start at left
tackle Sunday against the Big Red. After sitting out
the preseason finale
against Oakland with a sprained ankle, Chris Dishman
is expected to start at
left guard, with Andy McCollum at center, Adam
Timmerman at right guard and
Grant Williams at right tackle.
Because Pace signed after 3 p.m. Sunday, he did not
count against the team's
53-man roster. The Rams can ask for a two-week roster
exemption, or they can
simply release another player today.
The Rams released 11 players, and placed two others on
injured reserve to reach
Sunday afternoon's league-mandated roster limit of 53
players. Those moves
actually left the team at 52 players, but the Rams
signed free-agent safety
Zack Bronson, a former San Francisco 49er, to that
roster spot.
There were no real surprises on the cut list, compiled
by the Post-Dispatch
through several sources and later confirmed by team
officials.
The 11 players released were: defensive lineman Kevin
Aldridge; cornerback
Dwight Anderson; safety Nijrell Eason; defensive
tackle Bernard Holsey; wide
receiver Jamal Jones; safety Justin Lucas; running
back Dusty McGrorty;
defensive end Sean Moran; offensive tackle Matt
Morgan; offensive guard Brandon
Noll; and linebacker Brandon Spoon.
In addition, the club placed defensive back Tom Knight
(finger/hamstring); and
tight end Erik Jensen (knee) on the injured reserve
list.
Jensen, a seventh-rounder from Iowa, is the only 2004
draft pick in the group.
Among those players released, Aldridge, Anderson,
Jones, McGrorty and Noll are
practice-squad possibilities if they're not claimed
off waivers by another club
by this afternoon.
Moran played with the Rams in 2000 and '01, but
couldn't squeeze his way into a
very competitive situation at defensive end this
summer. Lucas is a six-year
veteran who played for new Rams defensive coordinator
Larry Marmie last season
in Arizona. He got a lot of playing time during the
preseason, and looked like
a leading contender to be the team's dime back in
six-defensive back
alignments.
But the Rams decided to go in a different direction.
Cornerback DeJuan Groce,
if healed as expected from a knee injury, could be
used in that capacity. And
so could Bronson.
Bronson, 30, started 43 games in seven seasons with
San Francisco, but was
released by the ***** on June 2. It was a move partly
based on performance, and
partly based on economics - his release saved the
***** $1.75 million of salary
cap space this year.
Bronson had seven interceptions in 2001, two of which
he returned for
touchdowns, but he has been slowed by injuries the
past two seasons. He played
in only five games in '02 because of a broken left
foot, and missed four games
last season because of neck and shoulder problems.
Sources said the Rams also talked to safety Jason
Sehorn over the weekend about
a possible return to the club, but it appears that
won't happen and that Sehorn
is retiring.
The Miami Dolphins also remained interested in trading
for running back Lamar
Gordon, sources familiar with the Dolphins told the
Post-Dispatch. But all
indications are that the Rams aren't interested in
trading Gordon.
Linear Mode
