Brandon Washington

Davis, Jones Among Rams’ Final Cuts

Thought to have the upper hand in the Rams’ center competition, Barrett Jones was one of St. Louis’ roster cuts as it trimmed to 53 players (according to Myles Simmons of the team’s website).

Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney ended up sticking on the roster due to having better positional versatility than Jones, an Alabama product who the Rams took in the fourth round in 2013, per ESPN.com’s Nick Waggoner.

An undrafted free agent in 2011, Barnes is listed as the Rams’ starting snapper.

The Rams also waived Austin Davis, who started eight games for the team last season in Sam Bradford‘s absence. Davis threw for over 2,000 yards and completed 63.4% of his passes in his first game sample.

Here are the rest of the Rams’ cuts:

  • Alex Bayer, TE
  • Emory Blake, WR
  • Malcolm Brown, RB
  • Christian Bryant, S
  • Justice Cunningham, TE
  • Marcus Fortson, DT
  • Montell Garner, CB
  • Jacob Hagen, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Zach Laskey, FB
  • Matt Longacre, DE
  • Marshall McFadden, LB
  • Brandon McGee, CB
  • Trovon Reed, CB
  • Daniel Rodriguez, WR
  • Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT
  • Brandon Washington, OL

Rams Re-Sign Austin Davis, Other RFAs

With the team’s offseason workout program getting underway today, the Rams locked up several of their restricted and exclusive rights free agents, tweets Howard Balzer of the SportsXchange. According to Balzer, quarterback Austin Davis, safety Rodney McLeod, tight end Cory Harkey, and guard Brandon Washington all re-signed today with the Rams.

Davis, who started 2014 as the third quarterback on the Rams’ depth chart, eventually took over for Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill as the team’s starter for eight games, leading the club to a 3-5 record in those games. He compiled 2,001 passing yards to go along with a 63.4% completion rate and an 85.1 passer rating, earning him a low-end RFA tender from St. Louis. He and Harkey will both earn $1.542MM salaries in 2015.

While Davis is perhaps the most well-known player re-signed today by the Rams, McLeod should be the most important of the group in 2015. The 24-year-old has started all 32 games for the Rams at free safety over the last two seasons, totaling 151 tackles, four interceptions, five fumble recoveries, and four fumble recoveries during that stretch. He got a second-rounder tender from the club, putting him in line for a ’15 salary of $2.356MM.

Washington, who hasn’t seen any real playing time during his stint with the Rams, had been an exclusive right free agent.

Minor Moves: NFC West

The NFC West brought multiple headline-worthy news items Friday – the Seahawks’ extension of Marshawn Lynch and a possible contract restructuring for the CardinalsCarson Palmer, for instance – but not every transaction includes household names. The Seahawks’ and Cardinals’ division rivals, the 49ers and Rams, proved as much Friday.

  • The 49ers signed long snapper Kyle Nelson to a four-year extension, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan. Last season was Nelson’s first 16-game campaign. He has been a member of seven different organizations and has had three separate stints with the 49ers since entering the NFL in 2011.
  • San Francisco also agreed to a one-year deal with tight end Garrett Celek, per Caplan. Celek has been a backup to Vernon Davis, having caught just eight passes in three seasons.
  • Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the Rams tendered offers to two exclusive rights free agents, running back Chase Reynolds and offensive lineman Brandon Washington. As ERFAs with fewer than three years’ experience, the tender means that both players must either stay with the Rams or not play at all. Reynolds has made his hay in St. Louis as a special teamer, while Washington has appeared in just one game since his career began in 2012.

Rams Promote Washington, Sign Williams

2:54pm: The Rams have made a few more moves, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Williams has indeed been added to the active roster, with cornerback Jemea Thomas waived to make room. Additionally, the team has cut wideout Kadron Boone from its practice squad and added offensive lineman Travis Bond.

12:04pm: The Rams have promoted offensive lineman Brandon Washington to the active roster, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). In addition to that, the Rams have added wide receiver Emory Blake, offensive tackle Steven Baker, and tight end Justice Cunningham to the practice squad, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.

Washington was one of the final cuts made before the 53-man deadline in late August and was added to the taxi squad soon after. The 6’3″, 320 pound lineman has one game of NFL experience on his resume.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Rams appear poised to continue with just four wide receivers on the active roster. Earlier today, Wagoner tweeted that if and when the Rams add a wide receiver to the active roster, it will be former Dolphins WR Damian Williams. St. Louis recently lost Brian Quick, who was placed on IR, for the year as he was in the midst of a breakout campaign.

Sunday Transactions: NFC West

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals:

San Francisco 49ers:

Seattle Seahawks:

  • Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Jimmy Staten, DT (Staten on Twitter), RaShaun Allen, TE; Demitrius Bronson, RB; B.J. Daniels, QB; Nate Isles, OT; Chris Matthews, WR; Terrance Parks, S; Steven Terrell, S.

St. Louis Rams:

Rams Waive Michael Sam, Down To 53

The Rams made history in May when they used a seventh-round pick on Michael Sam and became the first NFL team to draft an openly gay player. However, for now at least, St. Louis won’t become the first NFL team to carry an openly gay player on its 53-man roster. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Sam has been cut by the Rams.

Sam had a solid preseason for the Rams, including a sack of Johnny Manziel in the team’s game against the Browns. But competition for a roster spot on the Rams’ defensive line – one of the best in football – was fierce, and Sam became one of the last roster casualties before this afternoon’s deadline. As Schefter notes, the Missouri alum would be a strong practice squad candidate for the Rams or another club, if he clears waivers.

In addition to waiving Sam, the Rams have also removed the following players from their roster: