A Breakdown Of The St. Louis Rams 53-Man Roster: Contracts And Other Ramblin’ Facts

UPDATE: Michael Hoomanawanui and Quinn Ojinnaka have been released by the Rams; St. Louis has claimed Ty Nsekhe from the Colts and Shelley Smith from the Texans to fill the spots

Since Rambin’ Fan already broke down the Rams’ talent through their  position,  through their age and the college they attended, and their draft position, we are going to switch to the contract situations for the active players. We all know that Chris Long recently got his contract extension to stick with the St. Louis Rams for the next 4 years. We also know that the Rams are currently working on an extension for another pillar of our defense, James Laurinaitis. Here is a breakdown of the rest Rams whose contracts are expiring following the 2012 and 2013 season.

The contract situation:

On the 53-man roster, there are 18 players whose contracts are currently set to expire at the conclusion of the 2012 season. A good number of those are players signed to one-year, incentive filled contracts in hopes that they can contribute to the Rams, names like WR Steve Smith and LB Rocky McIntosh. On the other hand, there are some key players whose extensions may rest solely on their performance this year. Here is the list of starters and other notable players whose contracts end in 2012: RT Barry Richardson, OLB Rocky McIntosh and Mario Haggan, FB Brit Miller, S Craig Dahl and Darian Stewart , CB Bradley Fletcher, WR Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson. The most important name on that list, other than James Laurinaitis, is Bradford’s favorite target, Danny Amendola. Luckily, there have already been talks that the St. Louis Rams front office is working with Amendola to have his contract extended, meaning the Rams won’t have to go through what the New England Patriots are with Wes Welker or the Pittsburgh Steelers with Mike Wallace.

In 2013, there are a number of other key players whose contracts will be ending, including TE Michael Hoomanawanui, LT Rodger Saffold, OLB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, and RB Steven Jackson. These next two years will be big in terms of keeping the staples of the offense and defensive together. With Amendola, Jackson, Saffold, and Laurinaitis all marked for free agency in the next two years, it will be important for the front office to work diligently throughout the season to find the money for the extensions. However, that also means that the other starters 14-18 starters (depending on if you refer to Brandon Gibson, Craig Dahl, or the fill-in offensive line crew as starters) are locked up for the foreseeable future.

Other Ramblin’ facts:

• The average weight among the starters on the offensive line is 310 lbs, while the average weight for the defensive line is 286 lbs.
• The St. Louis Rams have attained players from the following teams since the preseason began: New York Jets (RT Wayne Hunter and RB Terrance Greenway), Buffalo Bills (DT Kellen Beard), Kansas City Chiefs (LB Justin Cole), Indianapolis Colts (TE Mike McNeill), Oakland Raiders (DT Mason Brodine)
• The Rams have multiple players from a number of different colleges: Virginia (3), Clemson (2), Illinois (2), Ohio St. (2), and South Carolina (2)
• When the roster is broken down into three fundamental parts, there are 24 offensive players, 26 defensive players, and 3 special teams players
• The three special teams players are LS Jake McQuaide, P Johnny Hekker, and K Greg “the Leg” Zuerlein. Of the three players, the punter is easily the largest player, measuring in at 6’5 tall and 227 pounds. All three player are under the age of 25
• The tallest player on the team is DT Matt Conrath at 6’7 tall, while the shortest player is S Quinton Pointer at 5’9 tall
• The heaviest player on the team is DT Kellen Beard weighing in at 355 lbs., easily outweighing Rok Watkins who is at 338 lbs.
• The lightest players is CB Rodney McLeod weighing 180 lbs., only slightly less than Danny Amendola at 183 lbs. and Cortland Finnegan at 188 lbs.