I will get to some news from camp today in a bit, but first I wanted to address a question posted in the comment section yesterday regarding who is going to make the team at the WR position. I don’t think there is any question that the WR battle will be one of, if not the, best in camp. There are nine players vying for five or six spots, and all of them could make a case to stay on the squad.

First, let’s look at the guys who have spots pretty much guaranteed. You have to think that Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, and Mardy Gilyard are safe (as pointed out by Betty White in the comment). For argument purposes, let’s assume that the team will keep six. That means there are three spots left for Brooks Foster, Danny Amendola, Jordan Kent, Keenan Burton, Dominique Curry, and Brandon Gibson. Here is my take on each player.

Brooks Foster- I know the team is high on Foster, and he has reportedly been very impressive in offseason workouts. He hasn’t really had a chance to prove himself since he missed all of last season due to injury, but the potential is there. If he continues to impress in camp, I would expect him to make the team.

Danny Amendola- Amendola was pretty solid when given the opportunity last season, and he brings another aspect to the team in the return game. The issue here is whether or not his skills at the receiver position are good enough to keep him on. I think Gilyard will likely take over some of the return duties, and if he does it could really hurt Amendola’s chances.

Jordan Kent- Kent is a guy I really like, but he comes across as more of a practice squad player at this point. he is a special teams dynamo, but I don’t think the coaching staff can justify keeping him on just for those purposes. There is plenty of potential there, as he is still developing as a player since he played three sports in college at Oregon. Look for him on the practice squad.

Keenan Burton- Burton is going to be the most difficult player to judge in this competition. He has the ability, and he has proven it on the field. The problem is, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy during his NFL career.  I think he could be in real trouble unless he blows the staff away during camp and preseason. If he doesn’t force the coaches to keep him on, I think he will be out of luck.

Dominique Curry- Curry will have an uphill battle as an undrafted free agent, but he has shown that his size and solid hands can play well at the NFL level. I am a fan of Curry, but he is really going to have to impress to get consideration. I wouldn’t be shocked if he made the squad, but he certainly isn’t a favorite.

Brandon Gibson- Gibson is a solid player, and I think he is in pretty good shape to make the team. He played in nine games last season and made 34 receptions for 348 yards, and he made a good impression on the coaching staff. I wouldn’t put him in the sure thing category by any means, but he does appear to be a front-runner.

So, if I had to make a prediction based on the assumption that the Rams keep six WRs, I would guess it will be Avery, Robinson, Gilyard, Gibson, Foster, and Burton.

Camp Notes: Chris Hovan was back today after leaving yesterday’s practice, and Marquis Johnson was out with fluid behind his knee. Fendi Onobun and Eric Butler left practice early due to dehydration, which is no shock considering it was over 100 degrees today. The biggest injury news of the day was Ron Bartell, who left with an ankle injury. The team said it was just  tweak, we should know more after x-rays come back. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.

Interesting day at Rams camp on Monday, as a couple of high-profile visitors were on hand for the festivities. First, former Mizzou standout Danario Alexander was in for a visit with the team. He wasn’t allowed to work out, but he did take a physical and had plenty of conversation with members of the organization. For anyone who isn’t a Mizzou fan, Alexander had a monster senior season with the Tigers, but he went undrafted due to injury concerns after he needed surgery on his left knee to repair an injury sustained during the week of the Senior Bowl. Alexander is free to sign with any team, and reports are that he passed his physical today and was happy with the visit. Alexander himself posted on Twitter that “The visit was great!! We are definitely going to keep in contact”. Everyone knows we need help at the receiver position, so expect the team to give the local guy a good, hard look.

Another visitor made waves today, as former head coach Dick Vermeil was present for all of practice. Vermeil also spoke to the team after the workout, so he certainly made his presence felt. I’m all for Coach Vermeil coming around whenever he wants, and I wish we would see him more often. The man is passionate, and he is a winner. Those are two qualities we need more of in this organization.

Practice Notes: A few notes from today’s workout. Chris Hovan went down with a minor back injury, but it isn’t expected to be serious. Rookie Marquis Johnson was slowed by a hamstring tweak, but again, it is not thought to be anything of significance.

I had a hell of a day at work today, so this post is going to be unusually short so I can get some sleep. There were some goings on at Rams Park today, so I wanted to make sure everyone was updated on what happened. First, the team has signed veteran DT Chris Hovan to a deal. This obviously isn’t earth-shattering by any means, but I have no problem with getting some cheap veteran depth on the defense. He said in an interview today that he is going to come in and fight for a job, but he also knows that it will be important for him to be a mentor to the younger players. Like I said, not a huge impact signing, but also not a bad one.

My boy Mardy Gilyard was in camp today, and apparently he and Sam Bradford have become quick buddies. Gilyard and Bradford have reportedly been talking on the phone for the last few weeks, and both rookies stayed after practice to get more work in together. I wonder what those phone conversations were like. I can just see Bradford saying something like, “I just love talking to you Mardy. I haven’t talked on the phone this much since I was in high school.”  Gilyard has been working out in Cincy since the draft, but he will still have some catching up to do now that he is in town.

Now for the bad news… OT Jason Smith missed the afternoon session with a toe injury. He has been dealing with this ailment for some time, and apparently he irritated it during the morning session. He went to the hospital for an MRI earlier today, and when I hear the results I will pass it on to you wonderful folks. I’m not hitting the panic button on this by any means, but I will say that I’m at least a little nervous.