May 23, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers (90) looks on during an OTA at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

There has been some concern within Rams Nation about the delay in the signing of this year’s crop of rookies. Never fear, however, because that issue will soon be taken care of. According to GM Les Snead, the Rams will start negotiations this week after the holiday has passed, and Snead also said that the entire group will be signed by the end of the minicamp that runs from June 12-14.

Apparently, the decision to delay contract negotiations is to allow the players to better acclimate themselves to the NFL so the transition from college is seamless. I don’t know if that’s going to make a big difference in the transition, but it doesn’t really matter. The guys aren’t going to miss any time, and negotiations should be short and easy thanks to the rookie wage scale.

All of you out there who have been voicing concern on this issue can rest easy. These guys are all going to be members of this team soon, and everything is all good.

As far as the actual location goes, they’re keeping it pretty tight-lipped. I obviously won’t be there since it’s in Arizona, but I have heard rumors that it will be in the Glendale area, so for anyone out in the desert keep a lookout. There have been varying opinions on how important these workouts are, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I would much rather have these guys together, working on their game, studying film, and just generally being around each other than sitting by themselves not doing anything. These workouts might not make a major difference in prep

I wish I had some better news for you all from minicamp, but unfortunately the biggest news to come out this weekend was injury-related. First, the update on Jason Smith is that he has a stress fracture in his toe. Smith is expected to miss the rest of the team’s OTAs, but he won’t need surgery.  Obviously this news isn’t good, but I guess it could have been worse. I’m really hoping this won’t be a lingering thing, but obviously you just never know with injuries. He is in a walking boot now, and hopefully he will be able to return for training camp.

The worst news to come out of camp was the injury offensive lineman Mark Setterstrom. Setterstrom reportedly suffered a torn triceps muscle, and he could be lost for the season. Injuries are always unfortunate, but you really have to feel for this guy. He has already come back from two major knee surgeries, and he suffered the same triceps injury at the end of last season. He hasn’t decided whether or not to have surgery, but if he does go under the knife he will be out for the year. This really hurts our depth on the offensive line, and although he isn’t a Pro Bowler by any means, his absence will hurt. I will update the situation further when news is released.

In other news, Kevin Dockery returned to the field after missing time with an ankle injury, so he should be fine goin forward. DE Chris Long was absent for the last two days of camp due to a death in the family. The team will have three more OTA sessions this week before breaking until training camp opens at the end of July.