OTAs Starting Tuesday

I want to start off by apologizing for my lack of posts as of late, as the combination of my new job to a small extent and Internet issues to a much bigger extent caused me to take several days off. Lucky for me, not much has happened while I was away. The big news on this Monday is that the Rams start OTAs tomorrow, and we already have some news to look out for. First, the good news. Here is a list of players who have been cleared from injury and are ready to participate this week:  DT Gary Gibson, OT Jason Smith, WR Laurent Robinson and WR Brooks Foster. Obviously, there are some important names on this list, specifically Jason Smith. With the trade of Alex Barron, we are going to need Smith to live up to his potential and more importantly stay on the field this year. It is also worth noting that both receivers are ready to go. Robinson looked very good early last season before going down, and I think he will be very important to the success of the offense this season, especially considering that we did nearly nothing to address the lack of quality depth at the position. I am also going to be watching Foster closely, as we didn’t get to see him hardly at all last season.

Now, the bad news. Here is a list of players who will be limited to just side work as they recover from injury: DE CJ Ah You, CB Bradley Fletcher and WR Keenan Burton. Burton can’t afford to miss too much time, as he will be fighting for playing time in the receiving corps. The most important guy here is Fletcher, as he made some major strides in his rookie campaign before he went down. If Fletch wants to be the starting corner opposite Ron Bartell, he will have to prove that he is healthy and ready to go this season. There should be plenty of competition, as Justin King, new addition Kevin Dockery, and rookie Jerome Murphy are all going to be fighting for the spot.