St. Louis Rams Roster Update: Chris Williams Signed, Scott Wells Not Ready To Return

Sep 9, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tackle Chris Williams (74) on the bench during the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Soldier Field. The Bears won 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Early this morning Ramblin’ Fan passed on the news that the St. Louis Rams had severed ties with Quinn “Moose” Ojinnaka after a disappointing game against Miami and a benching against the Packers. At that time, there was no word about who would be filling his 6’5 tall, 295 lbs. shoes on the depth chart, but now it has been revealed,

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/jthom1/status/260432530304540673″]

Chris Williams has some history with the St. Louis Rams, although not in a direct way. Williams was originally drafted as a left tackle by the Chicago Bears with the 14th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He missed his entire rookie season battling a back injury, which turned out to be a herniated disc that required surgery. In 2009, he came back healthy, but was demoted to the right tackle spot in favor of the long-time Rams great, and future Hall-of-Famer, Orlando Pace. In 2010, Williams once again found himself injured, playing only periodically for the next couple of seasons until being released last Tuesday. Williams has experience in the NFL at left tackle, right tackle, and left guard, seemingly possessing the versatilitythat the St. Louis Rams are interested in with their lineman this season.

In other news, Jim Thomas is also reporting that Scott Wells is not ready to come back to practice this week. Under the new rules of the CBA, each team is allowed to designate one player from the IR that can return during the season, which for the Rams was Wells. While he has reached that point this year in terms of the timeline for return, he is not ready health-wise to start contributing to the team. Luckily, Rob Turner is doing a standout job at center and Shelley Smith played well against the Packers in pass protection in his first NFL start. Smith allowed zero sacks and only one “hurry” on Sunday, and did not commit a penalty. Not too shabby for a third-fourth string lineman, especially considering the history the Rams have had with “Smith”s on the offensive line…