Dec 12, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; St. Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown (3) during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated St. Louis 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

When Jeff Fisher got the Head Coaching job here, he came in and basically started from scratch with player personnel, a number of players were released or traded. We’ll be looking at one released player that I think is one of the many possible explanations in this change in this new era of Ram football. Drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2003, Josh Brown made a name for himself as a strong legged accuate kicker. Many of us should remember those two game winning kicks for the Seahawks in 2007 that pretty much prevented the Rams from making the playoffs and propeled the Seahawks to play in the Superbowl that year.

So, the following season the Rams figured that to keep from being in the same situation against Seattle again, they signed Brown to what was the highest free-agent contract for a kicker at that time. That turned out great for Brown, but not so much for the Rams. He never turned out to be the difference maker the Front office envisioned him to be. His great moment as a Ram had to be that touchdown pass to Daniel Fells that was the game winner for the only Rams win in 2009. While his statistics as a St. Louis Ram weren’t horrible, kicking only one game winning field goal in four seasons will make his name forgettable.

Good luck to Mr. Brown as he is now a unemployed kicker after being not able to beat out Nick Folk for the New York Jets. Let the continued good Karma grow.

January 1, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown (3) celebrates after a successful onside kick in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome. San Francisco defeated St. Louis 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

This is a tough time of the year for fans and players alike. By now, the teams have been eating, sleeping, and bathing together for over two months. For some, roster cut time mean a dream come true, looking through the list of cuts and not finding your name, no matter how many times you look. To others it means the end of the line, an empty locker, and moving on the next stage of your career, whether that be trying for another football squad or something else all together. Nick Wagner has a great piece that goes in depth into the probable cuts, and some incite into some current players who were surprisingly cut at the beginning of their careers. Bradford had this to say about this years cuts,

“Obviously, there’s a lot of guys this year – even more so now that we can bring 90 into camp – that aren’t going to be here when we go into Detroit. It’s tough. It’s part of the business, though. I think I’ve kind of learned to accept it. I’m just excited for everyone who’s going to be here and who’s going to be a part of this team and this year.”

 

Sunday marked the first trickling of names from around the league, some more headline worthy than others. As this week goes on, more recognizable names will start to emerge, once the fringe players have all been brushed away. This morning, Jim Thomas reported that FB Todd Anderson was released, which was expected with the offseason acquisitions at that fullback  position. Also released this morning was ex-Rams kicker Josh Brown, who was first released earlier in the offseason after the Rams drafted Greg Zuerlein. Brown was picked up by the New York Jets, who are having their own string of offensive problems, but lost the kicking battle. Brown released his release in classy fashion via Twitter,

Best of luck to the 2012 Jets… Thanks for one of the most memorable camps in 10 yrs. GREAT GROUP OF GUYS!!

— Josh Brown (@Kickingitwith3) August 27, 2012

Aside from Terrell Owens, there have been a number of other “big” name releases. Some other names from  around the league include Patriots DT Gerald Warren and WR Donte Stallworth, Ravens K Billy Cundiff and C Cecil Newton (Cam Newton’s brother), and Buffalo QB Vince Young. Young spoke out about this release on Twitter,

“I want to thank the Bills organization for the opportunity and wish the organization and my teammates good luck this season”. — Vince Young (@VinceYoung) August 27, 2012

More names, surprising or not, will continue to trickle in as we head towards the doomsday of Friday’s final cuts. Stay tuned to RamblinFan.com for more details as they emerge…

Update: Rams have also cut  OL Kevin Hughes, RB Calvin Middleton, LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis, WRs Brandyn Harvey, WR Charles Gilbert, WR Danario Alexander, TE Brody Eldridge, LS Travis Tripucka, OL Ryan McKee

May 11, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Isaiah Pead (24) catches a ball during mini camp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The Rams were back at work on the field Wednesday, but the front office was busy doing its job as well. The team has agreed to rookie deals with third-round running back Isaiah Pead and sixth-round kicker Greg Zuerlein. Pead is expected to serve as the backup to Steven Jackson this season, while Zuerlein is expected to be the team’s starting kicker.

These were two signings that needed to be done, so it’s a good thing they are taken care of. Pead hasn’t done much work with the team yet due to his college schedule, but he’s done now and he won’t be missing any more time with the deal done. The Rams really like him, and they believe he can be a large contributor to this squad right away. We are pretty much going off his tapes from college still since he hasn’t done much in St. Louis, so it will be worth it to watch him closely this summer.

It might not seem that getting Zuerlein signed is a big deal, but considering we released Josh Brown and handed him the starting job, we needed to get him signed. I think Rams fans are going to be pleasantly surprised and impressed when they see this kid in action, but we still don’t know for sure he e will handle kicking on a big stage like the NFL.