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Rams Trade Hill, Cut Five
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
When the Rams selected Jonathan Wade in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, one of the first people he talked to was Rams cornerback Tye Hill.
A little more than two years later, Wade could be asked to step into Hill’s role as the starting cornerback after the Rams traded Hill to the Atlanta Falcons for an undisclosed draft pick on Tuesday afternoon.
“That’s not an easy (decision),” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “I sat with Tye this morning, let him know what was going on and it makes it even harder when it’s a quality guy, a person I really respected in everything he did while he was here. We do wish him well. We felt like we did what was in the best interest of our team.”
In addition to Hill, the Rams also trimmed five players from the roster in order to be down to the league mandated number of 75 by Tuesday afternoon. Tight end Joe Klopfenstein, receivers Brooks Foster and Jarrett Byers, center Daniel Sanders and cornerback Marcus Brown.
Foster cleared waivers and remains with the team after being placed on the injured reserve list.
Hill had started the first three preseason games opposite Bartell, but Spagnuolo maintained the competition remained open. In recent weeks, Hill and Wade had been sharing repetitions with the first team.
When the Rams consummated the trade with Atlanta, Wade was informed that at least for now he would be working with the first unit.
“(I was) shocked,” Wade said. “Hearing news like that always shocks you. I started thinking it could have been anyone. It’s not an easy thing to deal with whatsoever but the fact that it could well have been me, you have to continue to roll with the punches.”
Hill and Wade go way back, to their time in college running track. With Wade at Tennessee and Hill at Clemson, the two would frequently find themselves running sprints against each other at national track meets.
Of course, Hill arrived in the league in 2006, one year before Wade was in the NFL Draft. That year, the Rams traded down from the 11th pick in the draft to 15th and opted to select Hill with that pick.
But after playing in all 16 games as a rookie with three interceptions, injuries limited him to 12 games and one interception in the past two seasons.
Ultimately, though, the Rams opted to go in a different direction as the likes of Wade, Justin King, Bradley Fletcher and Quincy Butler now figure more prominently into the mix.
“I like all of those corners over there to be quite honest with you,” Spagnuolo said. “I have said all along that I thought there was a lot of competition over there and I also followed that with saying I thought Ron Bartell was doing a good job and in a lot of ways solidified one spot. We’ll find out who the other one is. It’s more than just a starting corner, we need a nickel, we may need a dime. All of those guys will compete.”
At least in the interim, Wade plans on doing everything he can to nail down that spot. His first task on Tuesday was balancing the emotions of saying goodbye to his friend with realizing what a tremendous opportunity is now being put in front of him.
Since the Rams selected him in 2007, Wade has proved a durable, athletic type who has systematically worked his way up the depth chart.
In college, Wade spent time at receiver and was still relatively new to the position upon getting to the NFL. As a rookie, Wade played mostly on special teams but did make on start and came up with an interception in the season finale at Arizona.
Last year, Wade again played in all 16 games and again came up with an interception in the final game. Along the way, Wade began to work in on nickel packages as the third corner and improved as he went along.
In this year’s camp, Wade himself has said he is a much more mature player and person and in that sense he’s more prepared to take on an expanded role.
That doesn’t mean Wade views himself as a finished product, though.
“Just because that (trade) happened didn’t necessarily change anything,” Wade said. “Everything about this game, I can get better. I’m a little kid in elementary school on my way trying to graduate from high school.”
Indeed, Wade is taking nothing for granted because the Rams do have a talented lot of corners fighting for opportunities of their own.
The Rams used a third-round pick on Fletcher this year after using a fourth-round choice on King a year ago.
Butler has been a pleasant surprise in this camp, coming up with an interception against the Bengals in last week’s preseason contest.
“Everything is tied in,” Spagnuolo said. “We made a trade because we thought it was in the best interest of the team. It’s obviously tied into all of the guys.”
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer
When the Rams selected Jonathan Wade in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, one of the first people he talked to was Rams cornerback Tye Hill.
A little more than two years later, Wade could be asked to step into Hill’s role as the starting cornerback after the Rams traded Hill to the Atlanta Falcons for an undisclosed draft pick on Tuesday afternoon.
“That’s not an easy (decision),” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “I sat with Tye this morning, let him know what was going on and it makes it even harder when it’s a quality guy, a person I really respected in everything he did while he was here. We do wish him well. We felt like we did what was in the best interest of our team.”
In addition to Hill, the Rams also trimmed five players from the roster in order to be down to the league mandated number of 75 by Tuesday afternoon. Tight end Joe Klopfenstein, receivers Brooks Foster and Jarrett Byers, center Daniel Sanders and cornerback Marcus Brown.
Foster cleared waivers and remains with the team after being placed on the injured reserve list.
Hill had started the first three preseason games opposite Bartell, but Spagnuolo maintained the competition remained open. In recent weeks, Hill and Wade had been sharing repetitions with the first team.
When the Rams consummated the trade with Atlanta, Wade was informed that at least for now he would be working with the first unit.
“(I was) shocked,” Wade said. “Hearing news like that always shocks you. I started thinking it could have been anyone. It’s not an easy thing to deal with whatsoever but the fact that it could well have been me, you have to continue to roll with the punches.”
Hill and Wade go way back, to their time in college running track. With Wade at Tennessee and Hill at Clemson, the two would frequently find themselves running sprints against each other at national track meets.
Of course, Hill arrived in the league in 2006, one year before Wade was in the NFL Draft. That year, the Rams traded down from the 11th pick in the draft to 15th and opted to select Hill with that pick.
But after playing in all 16 games as a rookie with three interceptions, injuries limited him to 12 games and one interception in the past two seasons.
Ultimately, though, the Rams opted to go in a different direction as the likes of Wade, Justin King, Bradley Fletcher and Quincy Butler now figure more prominently into the mix.
“I like all of those corners over there to be quite honest with you,” Spagnuolo said. “I have said all along that I thought there was a lot of competition over there and I also followed that with saying I thought Ron Bartell was doing a good job and in a lot of ways solidified one spot. We’ll find out who the other one is. It’s more than just a starting corner, we need a nickel, we may need a dime. All of those guys will compete.”
At least in the interim, Wade plans on doing everything he can to nail down that spot. His first task on Tuesday was balancing the emotions of saying goodbye to his friend with realizing what a tremendous opportunity is now being put in front of him.
Since the Rams selected him in 2007, Wade has proved a durable, athletic type who has systematically worked his way up the depth chart.
In college, Wade spent time at receiver and was still relatively new to the position upon getting to the NFL. As a rookie, Wade played mostly on special teams but did make on start and came up with an interception in the season finale at Arizona.
Last year, Wade again played in all 16 games and again came up with an interception in the final game. Along the way, Wade began to work in on nickel packages as the third corner and improved as he went along.
In this year’s camp, Wade himself has said he is a much more mature player and person and in that sense he’s more prepared to take on an expanded role.
That doesn’t mean Wade views himself as a finished product, though.
“Just because that (trade) happened didn’t necessarily change anything,” Wade said. “Everything about this game, I can get better. I’m a little kid in elementary school on my way trying to graduate from high school.”
Indeed, Wade is taking nothing for granted because the Rams do have a talented lot of corners fighting for opportunities of their own.
The Rams used a third-round pick on Fletcher this year after using a fourth-round choice on King a year ago.
Butler has been a pleasant surprise in this camp, coming up with an interception against the Bengals in last week’s preseason contest.
“Everything is tied in,” Spagnuolo said. “We made a trade because we thought it was in the best interest of the team. It’s obviously tied into all of the guys.”
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