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Rams Bitten By Injury Bug

Justin Stine — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 07:53:52 +0000

It had been pretty smooth sailing for the Rams at training camp thus far, but that was until Friday, when several players went down with injuries. Some of them were serious, and some not so much, but any injury is frustrating this early in the process. As far as the serious injury goes, it looks like CB Jerome Murphy suffered what could be a bad ankle injury while working in coverage of WR Danario Alexander. Murphy left Rams Park on crutches, but no word yet as to how bad it is. I really like Murphy, and I expect him to play a major role in the secondary this season, so this has potential to be devastating. When we know more, I’ll let you know.

Now, on to the more minor bumps. There were three players who did not participate in Friday’s practice. Greg Salas sat with a knee injury, Fendi Onobun was down with a groin issue and DT Jermelle Cudjo was out with back soreness. It doesn’t sound like any of these are overly serious, but I would suggest that all of these players need to be on the field as much as possible while they are fighting for spots. Fendi especially needs to play, because I still love his potential but he could be facing an uphill battle for a roster spot and he needs to shake that injury-prone label.

Fred Robbins left early today with a knee tweak, while David Vobora and Michael Hoomanawanui both suffered what’s being categorized as a concussion. Dominique Curry hurt his hand on Thursday, and he will undergo surgery to try an speed the recovery. This is bad news for Curry, because as much as the coaches seem to like him, he could very well get caught up in the numbers game at WR. Obviously, we have to see how his recovery goes, but an injury like this could open the door for a guy like Mardy Gilyard, who has been impressing so far. It’s far too early to speculate on who will and won’t make the team, but injuries always play a role in those decision.

Important Upcoming Rams Dates

Justin Stine — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:38:21 +0000

Before I get started, just wanted to let everyone know that Sam Bradford and the Rams’ offense is on the front page of the fantasy sports page at Yahoo. It doesn’t really mean anything, but just wanted to let you all know.

The next week is going to be absolutely nuts all over the NFL, and our St. Louis Rams are certainly no different. As many time lines as we have seen recently, it looks like we finally have an actual, concrete list of dates for the next few weeks up to the first preseason game Saturday, August 13 against the Colts at the Jones Dome. Obviously, you shouldn’t be shocked if something changes with these at some point, but it looks like this list provided by Jim Thomas should be as close to accurate as we can get right now. Some of these dates will be affected depending on how long it takes to ratify the agreed-upon CBA, so keep that in mind as well.

Tuesday – Rams Park facilities open to players
- Team can sign all rookies – drafted or undrafted - starting at 9 a.m. St. Louis time.
- Team can negotiate with - but not sign - all veteran free agents, whether on Rams roster last season or on other rosters.

Thursday – Teams can waive or terminate player contracts as of 3:01 p.m. St. Louis time.

Friday – First day of Rams training camp. Activity limited to physicals and team meetings.
- Team may sign free agents and/or renegotiate existing contracts as of 5 p.m. St. Louis time.
- Signed rookies may participate immediately in physical activity; newly signed veteran players cannot take part in physical activity until new CBA is ratified.

Saturday – No pads or contact allowed at Rams practice.

Sunday – No pads or contact allowed at Rams practice.

Monday, Aug. 1 – First day that Rams are allowed to have padded practice.

Thurs. Aug. 4 – League year begins if collective bargaining agreement is ratified. All clubs must be under salary cap. (League year can begin before Aug. 4 if CBA ratified before then.)

Sat. Aug. 13 – Preseason opener vs. Indianapolis at Edward Jones Dome, 7 p.m.

Rams Camp Officially Delayed

Justin Stine — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 05:22:37 +0000

I think we kind of expected this, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed today that the Rams won’t be starting training camp on July 23 as originally planned. According to Schefter, the earliest the team could report will be July 26, and it seems much more likely that it will be August before anyone reports. For those of you wondering, the Hall of Fame game is still scheduled to be played, but if the team doesn’t report until August it will be awfully tough to make that happen. For what it’s worth, Tony Softli said today on 101 ESPN that he was informed to get his press credentials in for the HOF game. That probably doesn’t mean much of anything, but it’s way better than being told not to worry about it because the game is off.

I think it’s important for everyone to realize that camp won’t start immediately when the lockout is lifted, because I have been asked that question a few times in the last couple of days. When the lockout is over, the teams will need some time to sign rookies and their own free agents, and then we will need a period for free agency before anyone heads to camp. The league wants the teams to be able to have full 90-player training camp rosters before teams report. So with that in mind, it makes sense that the HOF game is in serious jeopardy.