St. Louis Rams Post-Game Roundtable: Disaster Strikes in Cleveland!

5. The Rams have to cut down from 75 players to 53 by 4 pm EST on Saturday–which are the most notable players that you expect to be cut, and why–or, which are the most notable players that you expect NOT to be cut, and why?

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam (96) during warm ups before the game against the St. Louis Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Blaine G.: The notable players that I am expecting to be cut are Michael Sam and Garrett Gilbert. Don’t get me wrong, Michael is a great football player, but given that the Rams have so much depth on the d-line and Ethan Westbrooks has played extremely well, I don’t think he makes the roster.

I also believe the Rams will cut Gilbert–as the sixth round pick just hasn’t shown that he is a capable backup and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rams cut him and then sign a veteran guy or just stick with Austin Davis as their backup.

The notable players that I am not expecting to get cut are Greg Reid and Alex Bayer. Reid gives the Rams good depth in the secondary and they are going to need that especially with Trumaine Johnson out. Bayer on the other hand has made quite a few plays at tight end throughout the preseason and I wouldn’t mind having him back there behind Cook, Kendricks, and Harkey

Mark W.: I was really impressed by CB Greg Reid’s preseason play. He’s a tenacious tackler and he should be a solid special teams contributor moving forward. CB Trumaine Johnson’s injury makes him a veritable shoo-in in my eyes. As far as cuts, I think it’s going to take a very strong performance for DE Michael Sam to make this roster. DE Ethan Westbrooks has looked like a superstar so far this preseason. I wouldn’t lose any sleep if Westbrooks was kept and Sam was cut. Sam’s saving grace could be William Hayes’ tenuous health situation after several off-season surgeries.

Anthony K.: Well, to be perfectly honest, the three players whose names seem to keep coming up are running back Trey Watts on offense, and defensive ends Michael Sam and Ethan Westbrooks on defense. As Blaine and Mark have already suggested, Westbrooks has looked great as a ‘depth’ defensive end–he really could end up being the complete package–and he was brought on as an undrafted free agent. Sam–to his credit–has been able to get to the quarterback on a few occasions thus far during the preseason, but he appears to be quite one-dimensional. Sam isn’t good in coverage, isn’t good against the run, and can’t play on special teams. So he’s essentially a pass-rushing specialist. If that’s how he’d be used in games, other teams would have a pretty good idea of what the Rams are doing if he’s on the field–that’s NOT a good thing for the Rams.

As for Watts–he looked really good against the Browns, and definitely has shown some good moves and strength as a runner during the preseason, but the Rams already have Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham, and Tre Mason ahead of him. The kid definitely has potential, and with Isaiah Pead out for the season, there’s at least a chance that he could make the squad, even though he isn’t projected to be used as a kick returner as Pead was.