The Rams were in desperate need of a center, and Wells was the best one on the market. He’s a veteran with plenty of experience, he has played in 100 career games and he was the Packers most consistent lineman over the last two years. I was checking out some opinions from the Green Bay area, and they don’t seem to be happy that Wells is gone. That’s what you like to hear. This move will probably fly a bit under the radar this offseason, but it could have a major impact on the success of this team going forward. Another high mark for the new front office in St. Louis.

Here’s the thing about this symposium. It’s a voluntary thing, so it will be interesting to see how many of the drafted rookies show up. In the past, attendance was nearly perfect, and those who didn’t show up were fined by the league. It will be interesting to see what the rookies do here. I hope the Rams’ draftees take the chance to go to this thing, because all joking aside, I think it is pretty important. These guys need to hear from veterans of the league how to handle themselves and their finances once they become a part of the NFL. My guess would be that most players will show up since they don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with their respective organizations, especially since they don’t have contracts yet, but we will just have to see.

First, let me apologize for this article being late. I was at work Friday night when the deal was announced, and I left straight from there to go out of town for a Jr. Legion baseball tournament. But, as they say, better late than never. The Rams signed first-overall pick Sam Bradford to a six-year, $86 million contract, with $50 million guaranteed. I know those numbers look huge, but it’s pretty much what everyone expected. Until the NFL gets a rookie pay scale in effect, these deals are going to continue to get outrageous.

As far as my take on the deal, I just want to commend both sides for getting this thing done and getting Bradford in relatively on time. These things can be tricky, especially for a team that isn’t swimming in money, so good work by both sides. Bradford seemed genuine when he said he didn’t want a holdout, and it looks like it was true. Now we can move forward and get ready for the 2010 season.

Bradford may be mind-blowingly wealthy, but that didn’t stop the veterans from hazing the rookie. Everyone was apparently giving him a hard time over the weekend, and he was even designated the return man for the first two punts of the special teams practice on Sunday. He didn’t come close to catching either one, so it looks like his duties will be limited to quarterbacking from now on.