St. Louis Rams Get Down to 75-Man Roster Limit

The St. Louis Rams had to trim four more players from their roster in order to comply with Tuesday’s league-wide cutdown from the 90 to 75-man roster limit. They did that by placing quarterback Sam Bradford and center Demetrius Rhaney on injured reserve and releasing safety Matt Daniels and defensive end Sammy Brown.

Bradford tore his left ACL on Saturday and was declared to be out for the season. Rhaney was dealing with a deep bone bruise that was expected to keep him out into the early part of the regular season, and ultimately the Rams decided that it would be better to give the rookie seventh-rounder a year to add strength and immerse himself in the playbook. With starting center Scott Wells‘s status uncertain beyond this season due to the way his contract is structured, and young center Barrett Jones an uncertainty due to his health, it’s possible that Rhaney could earn a spot on the 53-man roster next season.

Daniels and Brown, who both were dealing with injuries during camp, ultimately fell victim to their susceptibility to injuries. Both players were entering their third year in the Rams’ system, and each of them had struggled with injuries for the large part of their professional careers. Daniels went on injured reserve during the early part of both of the past two seasons, and he missed time again this camp, which made him expendable. In addition to being a standout special-teamer, he was seen as a safety with the potential to become an impactful hard hitter. Unfortunately, his inability to stay on the field has robbed him of that chance with the Rams.

Brown, meanwhile, spent most of the past two years on the practice squad. He’s missed the large part of the training camp for the past two years, and with the Rams’ acquisition of rookie defensive ends Michael Sam and Ethan Westbrooks, Brown had been pushed down the depth chart.