Rams Cut DB To Make Room For Christian
- To make room on their roster for Marqui Christian, the Rams cut defensive back Isaiah Johnson, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports. The Rams claimed Christian off waivers from the Cardinals earlier today. A second-year UDFA out of Georgia Tech, Johnson’s played in seven games thus far, including one this season, in his short career. He still has practice squad eligibility, if the Rams so choose to relocate him there.
Rams Claim Marqui Christian Off Waivers
The Rams have claimed Marqui Christian off waivers from the Cardinals, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Christian was waived by Arizona on Tuesday. 
Christian, a safety out of Midwestern State, was a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft. The youngster impressed coaches with his aggressive play this offseason, but he ultimately found himself bumped from a roster that had plenty of depth in the secondary. The Cardinals were reportedly hoping to re-sign Christian to their practice squad before Los Angeles swooped in.
The Rams will now have Christian in reserve behind starters Mo Alexander and T.J. McDonald. Cody Davis and Isaiah Johnson are also on the depth chart at safety.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/27/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Cam Johnson
- Cut: LB Shaq Riddick
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Ed Eagan, C Terran Vaughn
- Cut: LB Carlos Fields, S Damian Parms
Green Bay Packers
- Cut: CB Robertson Daniel (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Adam Redmond
- Cut: S Lee Hightower
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OT Rashod Hill (Twitter link via agent Brett Tessler)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: C Daniel Munyer
- Cut: WR Seantavius Jones (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: LB Lynden Trail (Twitter link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
New England Patriots
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Doran Grant
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Julian Stanford
- Cut: WR Wendall Williams
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DL Demetrius Cherry (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
- Cut: LB Korey Toomer (Twitter link via Tafur)
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Zac Brooks (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia)
- Cut: WR Antwan Goodley (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: G Darrell Greene
- Cut: CB JaCorey Shepherd (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DB Jacob Hagen (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Jordan Leslie
- Cut: NT Antwaun Woods
Washington Redskins
- Signed: CB Lloyd Carrington (Twitter link via Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post), CB Tye Smith (Twitter link via Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post)
- Cut: LB Amarlo Herrera
NFL Waiver Priority Now Based On 2016 Record
We’re coming up on Week 4 of the NFL season and that means that waiver claim priority will be based on the current league standings instead of last year’s. Of course, waiver priority is based on the inverted NFL standings, which have built in tiebreakers to sort out the many logjams that naturally occur.
Throughout the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the Titans enjoyed top priority thanks to their 3-13 finish last year. Now, we have a brand new pecking order. Here is a full rundown of the current waiver claim priority, which will change from week to week:
1. Jaguars
2. Saints
3. Bears
4. Browns
5. Chargers
6. Lions
7. Jets
8. Cardinals
9. Bills
10. Colts
11. Dolphins
12. 49ers
13. Buccaneers
14. Bengals
15. Titans
16. Redskins
17. Panthers
18. Falcons
19. Cowboys
20. Giants
21. Raiders
22. Packers
23. Chiefs
24. Rams
25. Seahawks
26. Texans
27. Steelers
28. Ravens
29. Eagles
30. Broncos
31. Vikings
32. Patriots
Latest On Rams, Jeff Fisher
No extension has yet been announced between the Rams and head coach Jeff Fisher, but many around the NFL are assuming a deal will get done, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, agents are beginning to push their coaching clients toward Los Angeles, and if the Rams ever decide to replace Fisher, there is expected to be significant interest in the job, per Cole, who adds that many consider the Los Angeles market a “gold mine.”
[RELATED: Jared Goff Closing In On Starting Job]
Last week, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that the “widespread belief” around the league is that two the sides already having an extension in place. However, the Rams are likely to wait until a more appropriate time before announcing the new deal. Days after a 28-0 defeat to a 49ers team expected to finish last in the NFC West didn’t make sense, but Los Angeles didn’t confirm the contract after the Rams defeated the Seahawks in Week 2, either.
Under Fisher, the Rams have gone 28-37-1 and haven’t done better than seven wins in any season. The Rams haven’t reached the postseason in more than ten years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rams Waive S. Williams, Promote I. Johnson
The Rams have made a couple of changes to their defensive backfield, waiving Steve Williams and promoting Isaiah Johnson from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com.
After the Chargers waived Williams on Sept. 4, he joined the Rams on Sept. 8, but he was inactive for their first two games of 2016. Williams, a 2013 fifth-round pick from Cal, previously appeared in 27 games with the Bolts over his first two seasons. The 25-year-old picked up the first two starts of his career in 2015, when he amassed 19 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Johnson, 24, signed with the Lions last year as an undrafted free agent. The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket suited up for six of Detroit’s games as a rookie, but he didn’t record any statistics. The Lions waived Johnson on Sept. 3, and he signed with the Rams’ practice squad Sept. 6.
Rams’ Jared Goff Closing In On Starting Job
Rams quarterback Jared Goff was inactive for Week 1, but the first pick in this year’s draft took a step in the right direction when he served as Case Keenum‘s backup last Sunday. Now Goff is “close” to being ready to take the starting job from Keenum, head coach Jeff Fisher told John Clayton and Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM on Friday.
“There’s still a gap between he and Case right now,” said Fisher. “Everything that Case does, the familiarity with the offense, but he’s closing the gap and he’ll get in there, get his reps and make his plays, make the great throws that he’s capable of.”
The Rams are confident in Keenum, according to Fisher, but the 28-year-old has arguably been the worst quarterback in the NFL through the season’s first two weeks. Keenum has completed just 35 of 65 attempts for 369 yards and two interceptions, and the Rams have scored a paltry nine points – all of which came in their 9-3 upset over Seattle last Sunday.
“We have a healthy quarterback right now in our starter and so we’re just going to bring Jared along,” added Fisher.
While Goff is “improving,” per Fisher, it’s fair to say the ex-Cal star hasn’t developed as quickly as the Rams hoped he would when they traded up to draft him. General manager Les Snead sent several eminently valuable picks – including first-rounders this year and next – to the Titans to secure Goff, who became the first quarterback to go No. 1 overall and not start the opener of his rookie season since the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in 2007. He also began the year behind 2015 third-rounder Sean Mannion on Los Angeles’ depth chart.
Unlike the 21-year-old Goff, three signal-callers from this year’s draft – Carson Wentz (Eagles), Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Jacoby Brissett (Patriots) – have already started at least one game, while Browns third-rounder Cody Kessler will join the group this week. Fisher downplayed their relevance to Goff’s situation, however.
“Had this chain of events not happened — had (Dallas’ Tony) Romo not gotten hurt and (Minnesota’s) Teddy (Bridgewater) not gotten hurt and Sam (Bradford) stayed at Philly and then (Cleveland’s) RGIII not gotten hurt — we wouldn’t have any rookie quarterbacks playing,” he said.
Injuries have indeed opened doors for each rookie starter this year, but as the draft’s top two picks, Goff and Wentz will always draw comparisons. Thus far, Wentz is winning the battle. The former North Dakota State standout has connected on 43 of 71 attempts for 468 yards and three scores while helping the Eagles to a 2-0 start.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jeff Fisher Extension Already Done?
Despite Jeff Fisher‘s Rams underwhelming on opening night of their Los Angeles reboot, the subject of an extension for the longtime coach has been one of this week’s primary discussion topics. That continued on Saturday.
On the subject of a long-rumored extension for the fifth-year Rams coach, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports “widespread belief” around the NFL points to the sides already having an extension in place. The sense around the league, Florio writes, is Fisher’s extension will be announced at an appropriate time for the Rams. Days after a 28-0 defeat to a 49ers team expected to finish last in the NFC West doesn’t look like the right time, in the event an agreement has been completed.
In the final season of a five-year, $35MM deal, Fisher evaded these rumors earlier this week but didn’t deny an extension was in place, only saying he would not discuss it publicly. This came on the heels of conflicting reports regarding the 58-year-old Fisher’s future.
We heard midway through the week the presumed extension for Fisher wasn’t on the table after the Rams became the first team to be blanked in Week 1 since the 2009 Rams, but another report emerged later saying re-ups for Fisher and GM Les Snead remained likely.
Under Fisher, the Rams have improved from their late-2000s swoon. Although, despite the franchise re-emerging as a competent operation following four years featuring three or fewer victories between 2007-11, the team has not finished above .500 under Fisher’s watch. The Rams have won seven games three times during the former Titans coach’s run.
Fisher is 169-157-1 in his 22-year coaching career, with the 157 losses tying him for third all-time. With 165 defeats, Dan Reeves (190-165-2) holds the NFL record for losses as a head coach. Fisher’s longevity lends itself to a high ranking in this category, but he trails both coaches ahead of him — Reeves and Tom Landry (250-162-6) — in wins by a considerable amount. It would be interesting if the Rams made a decision to extend Fisher as he approached this mark, but signs continue to point to the Los Angeles native remaining with the team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rams’ T.J. McDonald Charged With DUI
SATURDAY, 8:35am: The Rams have released a statement (via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times):
“We are aware the city attorney filed charges today against T.J. McDonald stemming from his arrest in May. As this is an ongoing legal matter, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Jeff Fisher also commented on McDonald, noting that the defensive back did an admirable job of ignoring these distractions during last week’s game.
“We were concerned with respect to the issues he was working through,” the head coach said. “But we stood behind him the whole time, knowing that he would come back.”
FRIDAY, 5:13pm: The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office announced Friday that it has charged Rams safety T.J. McDonald with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs, reports Rich Hammond of the Los Angeles Daily News. If McDonald is found guilty, he could face up to six months in county jail and a $1k fine. The NFL could also discipline him.
McDonald was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of a substance on May 10 in Woodland Hills, Calif., after police said he crashed into a parked car and seemed inebriated. It’s not clear which substance police believe McDonald had used at the time, though Hammond notes that it could have been a narcotic, prescription drug or an over-the-counter drug.
On the field, the 25-year-old McDonald has started in all 38 of his appearances since the Rams selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft. Along the way, the former USC standout has accrued 229 tackles, including a career-high 105 in 2014, four sacks and two interceptions. He amassed eight tackles in the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers in Week 1.
McDonald is the son of six-time Pro Bowler Tim McDonald, a former NFL defensive back who enjoyed a 13-year career with the Cardinals and 49ers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jared Goff To Serve As Backup Sunday
Quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, was in street clothes for the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers on Monday. That won’t be the case Sunday, however, as Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said Friday that Goff will back up Case Keenum for the team’s Los Angeles opener against the Seahawks (Twitter link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).
Goff, who was previously behind both Keenum and Sean Mannion on the depth chart, hasn’t developed as quickly as the Rams hoped he would when they traded up to draft him. General manager Les Snead dealt a handful of highly valuable picks – including first-rounders this year and next, not to mention multiple second-rounders – to the Titans to secure Goff. The former Cal star didn’t progress enough in either training camp or the preseason to earn a spot on the Week 1 active roster, though, and he became the first quarterback to go No. 1 overall and not start the opener of his rookie season since the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in 2007.
Considering what Keenum provided in the Rams’ embarrassing Week 1 defeat, Goff could usurp the starting role under center sooner than later. Keenum, an undrafted free agent in 2012, completed just 17 of 35 passes for a paltry 130 yards and two interceptions against the 49ers, whom many expect to compete for the No. 1 pick this year. He might not fare much better this week against an excellent Seahawks defense, one that yielded 10 points and sacked Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill five times last Sunday, which could further hasten the official start of the Goff era.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.