My Take On The Clayton Signing

As previously discussed here at Ramblin’ Fan and elsewhere, the Rams signed WR Mark Clayton to a deal on Tuesday. I know many of you are big Clayton fans, and I don’t blame you. I really liked the move to bring him in last season, and I think he’s a great guy and a very good player. With that being said, I have some serious questions about bringing him back at this point. First, how healthy is the knee. The Rams said earlier in the preseason that his knee wasn’t healthy enough, and at age 29 I have to question what he has in the tank for this season. This team already has an intense battle going at the position, and if he takes a spot of one of those guys, I don’t know if I like it.

If the Rams put him on the reserved-injured list, then I don’t mind it so much. He will have to miss the first 6 weeks of the season, but considering the injury history of this group of receivers, Clayton could be a nice insurance policy in the middle of the year. If he makes the roster out of camp, then I don’t like the move. I would rather keep a guy like Danario Alexander than Clayton. Alexander also has a major injury history with his knees, but he is far younger and carries considerably more upside than Clayton. I’m sure the Rams have a plan here or they wouldn’t have made the deal to bring Clayton back, but I’m very interested to see what that plan is. All I know is, a race that was already the most intriguing in camp just got far more interesting in the final days.