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By Steve Overbey
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Brian Westbrook, a former standout running back with the Philadelphia Eagles, took a physical with the Rams on Saturday.
Head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who previously was an assistant coach with the Eagles, cautioned reporters that Westbrook coming to town for the physical did not guarantee that he would be signing with the Rams.
"Brian is here just because we want to do the physical," Spagnuolo noted. "We want to do that part of it. But then we'll see where it goes from there. It’s way, way early in the stage."
The 30-year-old Westbrook, a former Pro Bowler, was released by Philadelphia in February. He suffered two concussions in 2009 and missed eight games because of the concussions and an ankle injury.
Westbrook has rushed for 5,995 yards on 1,308 carries in his career. He said last week that he does not plan to retire.
The Green Bay Packers, along with the Rams, are among the three or four teams that have shown interest in Westbrook.
The Rams did not select any running backs during the draft.
More new players: The Rams' work didn’t stop when the draft ended Saturday. The team reportedly agreed to terms with 11 undrafted free agents Saturday night. The list was unofficial, and nothing was announced by the team.
In a list compiled from various web sites and Twitter messages, the following players were said to have come to terms with the Rams:
Thaddeus Lewis, a quarterback from Duke; Brandon McRae, a wide receiver from Mississippi State; Simoni Lawrence, a linebacker from Minnesota; DeMaundray Woolridge, a running back from Idaho; Jimmy Jones, a safety from Idaho; Rod Owens, a wide receiver from Florida State; Jamie McCoy, a tight end from Texas A&M, Keith Toston, a running back from Oklahoma State; A.J. Jefferson, a cornerback from Fresno State; Adrian Davis, a defensive end from Arkansas, and Kennedy Tinsley, a linebacker-fullback from North Carolina.
In addition, running back Alex Henderson of Northern Arizona signed a tryout contract for the mini-camp with the Rams. Offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani from UCLA will be coming to town for a free-agent tryout, the university announced.
Rookie minicamp on tap: The Rams will hold their rookie camp this weekend. All of the players drafted the past few days will be present, in addition to the undrafted free agents. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said six non-rookies that don't have a credited season will also be at the minicamp.
Those players are believed to be defensive tackle Chris Bradwell, cornerback Marcus Brown, wide receivers Travis Brown and Nick Moore, tight end Eric Butler, guard Mark Lewis, tackles Ryan McKee and Eric Young, wide receiver/cornerback Cord Parks and quarterback Mike Reilly.
In advance of the camp, which will include time on the field and even more in the classroom, rookies are given some of the playbook hat they can start getting familiar. Asked about quarterback Sam Bradford being given "take-home" work, coach Steve Spagnuolo said, “We did. As a matter of fact, I’ll tell you what happens now. (Offensive coordinator) Pat (Shurmur) and (quarterbacks coach) Dick (Curl) sat with him. He’s got a reduced playbook of some things to study and he will.
"What we do with all of our draft picks is if they didn’t come here to give that to them, like we did with Rodger (Saffold) and Jerome (Murphy), we overnight it to them. Not a lot of information, but just something to get them started. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, we’ll do phone meetings. So we did that with Sam as well. Just a little bit. Just a way to get a head start.”
Tigers to the NFL: Three Missouri players who were not drafted agreed to terms with NFL teams Saturday night as free agents, the university announced. Wide receiver Jared Perry agreed to terms with the San Francisco *****, defensive tackle Jaron Baston came to terms with Denver, and guard Kurtis Gregory was signed by the Carolina Panthers.
Wide receiver Denario Alexander was not drafted, and reportedly will have to pass a physical exam before he will be able to sign with an NFL team. He reinjured his knee at the Senior Bowl and has said he should be able to run at full speed by the beginning of June.
Juice Williams gets tryout: Illinois quarterback Juice Williams agreed to a tryout contract Saturday night with the Chicago Bears.
Another Illinois player, Jeff Cumberland, a tight end, agreed to terms on a free-agent deal with the New York Jets.
Two Lindenwood Lions sign: Two Lindenwood football players signed free-agent contracts following the draft. Wide receiver Marcel Thompson signed with the San Diego Chargers and wide receiver Roren Thomas, a graduate of Soldan High School, agreed to terms with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thompson transferred to Lindenwood as a junior. In two seasons, he had 83 receptions for 1,342 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last season, he was second on the team with 53 receptions and 844 receiving yards, and was third with seven receiving touchdowns. Thompson had three 100-yard receiving games in 2009.
Thomas played one year for the Lions. He caught 37 passes for 409 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 236 yards and three scores. He was also a kick returner, averaging 22.3 yards on kickoff returns, 18.5 yards on punt returns, and scoring three return touchdowns.
Devaney pleased but tired: Rams general manager Billy Devaney was pleased - yet tired - at the end of the lengthy three-day draft.
"Do you fill every need going in, or course not?," he said. "You miss on some guys. But I feel good about the way the whole thing went. Was it perfect? Of course not. No draft is ever perfect. But I feel great about the way the three days went."
After the Rams selected five offensive players among the first seven picked, the final four were all on the defensive side of the ball.
Coach Steve Spagnuolo joked that it happened because, "You guys didn’t know; I cornered Billy earlier today.”
Said Devaney, “I was tired. At that point I said, ‘Just do whatever. Just move.’ He got me at a weak moment.”
In all seriousness, talking about the new draft format, Devaney said, "We’re going to do it again next year it sounds like. That was a long three days, man."
Globe-Democrat.com NFL Writer Howard Balzer contributed to this report.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Brian Westbrook, a former standout running back with the Philadelphia Eagles, took a physical with the Rams on Saturday.
Head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who previously was an assistant coach with the Eagles, cautioned reporters that Westbrook coming to town for the physical did not guarantee that he would be signing with the Rams.
"Brian is here just because we want to do the physical," Spagnuolo noted. "We want to do that part of it. But then we'll see where it goes from there. It’s way, way early in the stage."
The 30-year-old Westbrook, a former Pro Bowler, was released by Philadelphia in February. He suffered two concussions in 2009 and missed eight games because of the concussions and an ankle injury.
Westbrook has rushed for 5,995 yards on 1,308 carries in his career. He said last week that he does not plan to retire.
The Green Bay Packers, along with the Rams, are among the three or four teams that have shown interest in Westbrook.
The Rams did not select any running backs during the draft.
More new players: The Rams' work didn’t stop when the draft ended Saturday. The team reportedly agreed to terms with 11 undrafted free agents Saturday night. The list was unofficial, and nothing was announced by the team.
In a list compiled from various web sites and Twitter messages, the following players were said to have come to terms with the Rams:
Thaddeus Lewis, a quarterback from Duke; Brandon McRae, a wide receiver from Mississippi State; Simoni Lawrence, a linebacker from Minnesota; DeMaundray Woolridge, a running back from Idaho; Jimmy Jones, a safety from Idaho; Rod Owens, a wide receiver from Florida State; Jamie McCoy, a tight end from Texas A&M, Keith Toston, a running back from Oklahoma State; A.J. Jefferson, a cornerback from Fresno State; Adrian Davis, a defensive end from Arkansas, and Kennedy Tinsley, a linebacker-fullback from North Carolina.
In addition, running back Alex Henderson of Northern Arizona signed a tryout contract for the mini-camp with the Rams. Offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani from UCLA will be coming to town for a free-agent tryout, the university announced.
Rookie minicamp on tap: The Rams will hold their rookie camp this weekend. All of the players drafted the past few days will be present, in addition to the undrafted free agents. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said six non-rookies that don't have a credited season will also be at the minicamp.
Those players are believed to be defensive tackle Chris Bradwell, cornerback Marcus Brown, wide receivers Travis Brown and Nick Moore, tight end Eric Butler, guard Mark Lewis, tackles Ryan McKee and Eric Young, wide receiver/cornerback Cord Parks and quarterback Mike Reilly.
In advance of the camp, which will include time on the field and even more in the classroom, rookies are given some of the playbook hat they can start getting familiar. Asked about quarterback Sam Bradford being given "take-home" work, coach Steve Spagnuolo said, “We did. As a matter of fact, I’ll tell you what happens now. (Offensive coordinator) Pat (Shurmur) and (quarterbacks coach) Dick (Curl) sat with him. He’s got a reduced playbook of some things to study and he will.
"What we do with all of our draft picks is if they didn’t come here to give that to them, like we did with Rodger (Saffold) and Jerome (Murphy), we overnight it to them. Not a lot of information, but just something to get them started. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, we’ll do phone meetings. So we did that with Sam as well. Just a little bit. Just a way to get a head start.”
Tigers to the NFL: Three Missouri players who were not drafted agreed to terms with NFL teams Saturday night as free agents, the university announced. Wide receiver Jared Perry agreed to terms with the San Francisco *****, defensive tackle Jaron Baston came to terms with Denver, and guard Kurtis Gregory was signed by the Carolina Panthers.
Wide receiver Denario Alexander was not drafted, and reportedly will have to pass a physical exam before he will be able to sign with an NFL team. He reinjured his knee at the Senior Bowl and has said he should be able to run at full speed by the beginning of June.
Juice Williams gets tryout: Illinois quarterback Juice Williams agreed to a tryout contract Saturday night with the Chicago Bears.
Another Illinois player, Jeff Cumberland, a tight end, agreed to terms on a free-agent deal with the New York Jets.
Two Lindenwood Lions sign: Two Lindenwood football players signed free-agent contracts following the draft. Wide receiver Marcel Thompson signed with the San Diego Chargers and wide receiver Roren Thomas, a graduate of Soldan High School, agreed to terms with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thompson transferred to Lindenwood as a junior. In two seasons, he had 83 receptions for 1,342 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last season, he was second on the team with 53 receptions and 844 receiving yards, and was third with seven receiving touchdowns. Thompson had three 100-yard receiving games in 2009.
Thomas played one year for the Lions. He caught 37 passes for 409 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 236 yards and three scores. He was also a kick returner, averaging 22.3 yards on kickoff returns, 18.5 yards on punt returns, and scoring three return touchdowns.
Devaney pleased but tired: Rams general manager Billy Devaney was pleased - yet tired - at the end of the lengthy three-day draft.
"Do you fill every need going in, or course not?," he said. "You miss on some guys. But I feel good about the way the whole thing went. Was it perfect? Of course not. No draft is ever perfect. But I feel great about the way the three days went."
After the Rams selected five offensive players among the first seven picked, the final four were all on the defensive side of the ball.
Coach Steve Spagnuolo joked that it happened because, "You guys didn’t know; I cornered Billy earlier today.”
Said Devaney, “I was tired. At that point I said, ‘Just do whatever. Just move.’ He got me at a weak moment.”
In all seriousness, talking about the new draft format, Devaney said, "We’re going to do it again next year it sounds like. That was a long three days, man."
Globe-Democrat.com NFL Writer Howard Balzer contributed to this report.
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