By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, Oct. 11 2007
Before he stepped back onto the practice field Wednesday at Rams Park, Claude
Wroten reported that his teammates had welcomed him "with open arms. There was
nothing negative. I'm back and ready to play."
He also better be ready to walk a narrow line after serving a four-game
suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.
"He has to prove that he's not going to be in that situation again," coach
Scott Linehan said. "The reality is if he does, it's going to jeopardize not
only his ability to play here, but his ability to play in the NFL and play
football for a profession. It's a pretty cut-and-dried wake-up call for any of
the guys who have to go through that."
The Rams rolled the dice last year when they drafted Wroten in the third round.
Wroten, an All-Southeastern Conference defensive tackle at Louisiana State, was
arrested in January 2006 for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Those charges eventually were dropped, but Wroten failed a drug test the
following month at the NFL scouting combine.
In June, Wroten was arrested after he forced his way into his girlfriend's
apartment on the LSU campus and removed some items that belonged to him. Wroten
self-reported that incident.
Still, Wroten insists that the Rams "made the right choice. I don't feel it was
a gamble."
The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Wroten, a pass-rushing specialist at LSU, played in 15
games as a rookie, collecting 13 tackles and a sack.
The suspension began Sept. 11, two days after the season-opener. Wroten was
reinstated Monday and is expected to be back in the defensive line rotation
Sunday when the Rams meet the Ravens in Baltimore.
During his hiatus, Wroten worked out daily at Rams Park and attended all the
team and position meetings. "I stayed in shape so that when the suspension was
over, I could get back on my feet like it never happened," he said.
On Sundays, though, he was a mere spectator. "It's kind of tough to see your
team not winning and knowing you could do some things to help them out," he
said. On the plus side, Wroten said he had time "to watch a lot of teams in the
NFL play and see how I can apply other people's games to my game and come back
and be a better Claude."
He said that the concept of "a better Claude" extends well beyond the playing
field.
"I know I made a mistake, and I absolutely can't let it happen again," Wroten
said. "To sit out four games for something stupid ... I learned from it, and
I'm looking to move on."
RAM-BLINGS
Running back
Steven Jackson (groin), who will miss his third game in a row
Sunday, did some light running and conditioning Wednesday. ... Newly signed
safety Bhawoh Jue is a native of Liberia. He was a year old when his parents
fled the war-torn African nation. ... Eureka High's Farrell Shelton is the
Rams' high school coach of the week. The Wildcats beat Pattonville 27-6 on
Friday to improve to 6-0.
GO RAMS 
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