St. Louis Rams Add Devon Wylie, Kadron Boone, Korey Toomer to Practice Squad

The St. Louis Rams did some rather significant practice squad shuffling on Tuesday afternoon, filling two vacant spots created by the release of wide receiver Emory Blake and the promotion of linebacker Marshall McFadden to the active roster, while also performing a straight swap for another spot. Wide receivers Devon Wylie and Kadron Boone and linebacker Korey Toomer were signed, while linebacker Denicos Allen was released.

Wylie and Toomer actually are rather high-profile practice squad members. Wylie was a fourth-rounder out of Fresno State in 2012, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs. The 26-year-old, who measures in at just 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, was released by the Chiefs at the end of last year’s training camp. He ended up having stints on the practice squads of both the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, and he was later promoted to the active roster and played in two games for Tennessee near the tail end of 2013. He spent this year’s training camp with the San Francisco 49ers but had been out of work since being released in August.

Wylie has experience as both a kick and punt returner, so he gives the Rams some protection in that area should they lose Tavon Austin. Austin Pettis, who was released Monday, and recently-released practice squad receiver Justin Veltung were likely the next options had Austin gone down earlier, so Wylie reinforces the depth at punt returner.

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Toomer joins Scott Wells and Jo-Lonn Dunbar as former Super Bowl champions on the Rams’ roster. The 25-year-old linebacker, who is 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds, spent last year on the Seattle Seahawks’ non-football injury list while recovering from a shoulder injury and earned a Super Bowl ring for his efforts. Despite his relatively solid draft status as a fifth-rounder in 2012, Toomer never actually played in a game with Seattle, as he was held back by injuries for both of his years there.

Toomer was claimed by the Dallas Cowboys after being cut by the Seahawks at the end of this year’s training camp, and he suited up for their defeat of the Seattle Seahawks last week. Shortly after, he was released to make room for defensive end Lavar Edwards on their active roster.

Toomer takes the place of Allen, an undersized rookie ‘backer with special teams potential who had been on the Rams’ practice squad since the start of the season. He’ll provide an extra body for practice and gives the team extra protection in case one of their top six options goes down.

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Boone, a 6-foot, 202-pound undrafted rookie from LSU, had been unemployed since being released by the Philadelphia Eagles in training camp. The 23-year-old was stuck behind NFL draftees Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham, Jr. on on the Tigers’ depth chart last year, and it affected his production, as he only caught seven passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

Boone, along with Wylie, will act as needed practice bodies following the recent terminations of Pettis and Blake, which left the Rams with just five receivers on their active roster and none on the practice squad. With all five of the wideouts being contributors to the offense at this point, one of the new practice squad members may have an opportunity to establish a role later on should any of the Rams’ current receivers suffer an injury.

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