St. Louis Rams Release Final Five Players to Reach 53-Man Limit

The St. Louis Rams got down to 53 players on Saturday, releasing four players–defensive end Michael Sam, defensive tackle Matt Conrath, safety Christian Bryant, and offensive lineman Brandon Washington–as well as placing wide receiver Stedman Bailey on the reserve/suspended list. These moves create a very odd roster composition, as the team has just two quarterbacks, five running backs, five tight ends, and only five linebackers. It’s highly possible that the roster could change as the Rams scan the waiver wire before next Sunday’s season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Obviously, the release of Sam comes as a disappointment to the many Mizzou fans in St. Louis who have supported him in St. Louis over the past several months. You’d think that Sam will get picked up by one of the many teams needing pass rushers in the NFL, but then again he also deserved to go higher than at the end of the seventh round of the draft, and he fell there too.

Just to tell you how relatively worthless the NFL Draft is in 2014, the Rams ended up releasing four of their eleven draft picks: Sam, Bryant, offensive tackle Mitchell Van Dyk, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert. A fifth, center Demetrius Rhaney, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a deep bone bruise that would have kept him out for the season’s first month. In contrast, the team kept four undrafted rookies: tight end Alex Bayer, cornerback Marcus Roberson, defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks, and running back Trey Watts.