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Rams acquire help on special teams
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Thursday, Mar. 10 2005
In a move to bolster their special teams and add depth in the secondary, the
Rams agreed to terms Thursday with free agent Michael Stone. Contract terms
weren’t immediately available.
Stone, 27, was a second-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2001 after
playing his college ball at Memphis. Stone primarily has been a special teams
player with the Cardinals. A safety/cornerback listed at 6 feet, 201 pounds,
Stone had only three tackles on defense last season, but was second on the Big
Red in special teams stops with 17.
He missed the entire 2003 season with a torn pectoral muscle.
“This was the No. 1 special teams guy (available) in our evaluations,” said Joe
Vitt, Rams assistant head coach and linebackers coach.
Stone could have a chance to get into the mix at safety as well.
“As people see, you can’t have enough safeties,” Vitt said. “We went through a
lot of them last year. This kid can run. He can tackle. He’s physical. He
understands the game. We still think he has ascending skills.”
After visiting Rams Park at the start of this week, Stone also visited New
England. Vitt said that signing Stone doesn’t preclude the Rams from signing
corner/safety Michael Hawthorne, a Green Bay free agent who also visited Rams
Park earlier this week.
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