St. Louis Rams Cuts: Live Cutdown Day Tracker
The St. Louis Rams and every other NFL team must reduce their roster to 53 active players by Saturday, September 5 at 3:00 PM CT. With the Rams having finished up their preseason schedule on Thursday evening with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, though, many players will learn of their fate on Friday, as there’s no point in having them around the facility any longer if they’re not going to be part of the roster come the Rams’ regular season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on September 13.
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We will be following the cuts as they happen here at Arch Authority with our live cutdown day tracker. Listed below will be all the Rams players who have reportedly been released, updated as the cuts are announced throughout the next two days (First reported by St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas unless otherwise noted):
OL Brandon Washington– Washington, a 6-foot-2, 320-pounder, has been with the organization as a backup guard and occasional tackle since 2012. He spent his first season on the practice squad, and since then has shuffled between the active roster and the practice squad each season. This is the third time that Washington has been released by the Rams since his rookie year. Washington seemed to have the inside track at a backup job this season, but he performed poorly during the preseason and lost ground to guys like Demetrius Rhaney, Garrett Reynolds, and even undrafted rookie Darrell Williams.
DE Matt Longacre- Longacre, an undrafted rookie from Northwest Missouri State, made a major impression during training camp, but just could not do enough to steal a job from a tenured player like Eugene Sims or Ethan Westbrooks. He’s a likely candidate to be part of the practice squad, provided that the Rams don’t have to dedicate too many of those spots to insurance players at positions like tight end and cornerback.
CB Trovon Reed- Reed, an undrafted rookie out of Auburn (the Rams’ unofficial pipeline school), was signed to provide depth at the cornerback position after E.J. Gaines went down with an injury. He ended up outlasting fellow UDFA Imoan Claiborne and obviously made some sort of impression. At this point, Reed doesn’t really seem like a logical practice squad candidate, but if the Rams can’t make other teams’ cuts at corner into their own relative treasure on the practice squad, then he may stick around purely to provide depth at a very thin position for the Rams.
CB Montell Garner- Garner was one of the Rams’ depth corners in camp, but he apparently didn’t do enough to earn a 53-man roster spot, even with a potential fifth corner job there for the taking following E.J. Gaines’ injury. Garner may be a practice squad candidate, though the Rams will likely look for outside help.
S Jacob Hagen- the undrafted rookie safety had some nice moments, but wasn’t going to unseat any of the Rams’ five incumbent safeties and would have had difficulty even passing up last year’s seventh-rounder, Christian Bryant. He’s likely not a practice squad candidate, just because of the depth that already exists at the position.
RB Malcolm Brown- the undrafted rookie from Texas had a solid preseason, but a rebound performance from former second-rounder Isaiah Pead kept him from earning a roster spot. He’s talented enough to warrant a practice squad spot, but may struggle to do so considering that the Rams will have suspended back Trey Watts returning in Week 5 ans there’s already five backs on the active roster.
FB Zach Laskey- Laskey, an undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech, was always somewhat out of place as a college tailback being used primarily at fullback as a pro. It was mildly surprising to see him last past the first cut, but nevertheless, he doesn’t seem to be a real practice squad candidate.
TE Alex Bayer– Bayer is a solid pass catcher, but with Cunningham having the edge on blocking, he is the obvious need for the Rams right now. Bayer also struggled with a quiet preseason, something he normally does not do, as we’ve seen in the past.
WR Emory Blake– Blake has been in the Rams system for a few years now. Blake struggled in the preseason with route running and holding onto balls that were thrown his way. There is plenty of solid depth on the Rams Roster, and it appears Bradley Marquez will win the only roster spot available.
DE Martin Ifedi- Ifedi had a decent shot to make the roster, but with undrafted rookie Louis Trinca-Pasat having a wonderful camp, Ifedi is left out after not really making any impressive plays in any of the Rams preseason games.
OL Barrett Jones– One of the biggest surprises thus far, as Barrett was a huge favorite to win the starting job at center this season. However, after a lack-luster off season and troubled injury past, the Rams seem to like rookie Demetrius Rhaney and Tim Barnes better at that position.
LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar– Another surprise, as Dunbar started for the Rams last season and played the run very well. Dunbar has been on the team for a few years, and most fans know him by his toughness. However, with the addition of Akeem Ayers, and with rookie Bryce Hager making the team, there just isn’t much room left for Dunbar on the final roster. (First reported by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport)
QB Austin Davis– Davis, the fourth-year signal-caller who was the Rams’ starter for a large chunk of last season, was released thanks to the newfound depth the Rams have with Case Keenum and Sean Mannion. Seeing as he lasted until the final hours, it would make sense that the Rams were trying to find a trade fit for Davis before letting him go. (First reported by ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner)
TE Justice Cunningham– the third-year tight end looked positioned to make the 53-man roster, but a need for extra depth on the offensive line and at wide receiver, tight end was the position at which the Rams decided to go shorthanded. Cunningham, along with Bayer, likely has a good shot at the practice squad, as the Rams will need extra insurance at tight end.
S Christian Bryant- an undersized safety who spent last season on the practice squad after being taken in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, Bryant once again failed to make the 53-man roster this year. He had a good enough preseason that he could be in the running for the practice squad, though the Rams don’t necessarily need safety depth with five already on the roster.
OT Isaiah Battle- The release of Battle, the Rams’ fifth-round selection in this summer’s supplemental draft, was surprising, but only because the Rams have historically shown so much loyalty to their draft picks. The 6-foot-7, 290-pounder played badly during the preseason, but that was somewhat expected considering that he didn’t enter the Rams’ program until July and wasn’t exactly polished as a college player at Clemson. The Rams will probably bring Battle back to the practice squad, though with his lack of ideal body composition and flawed technique, it looks as if the Rams will have difficulty making the pick pan out. (First reported by ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner)
WR Daniel Rodriguez- Jeff Fisher and company kept Rodriguez, an Army veteran and former Purple Heart winner who broke into football by walking in at Clemson, but on Saturday they had to do the inevitable and release the undersized wideout and return man. Talent-wise, Rodriguez didn’t show enough to earn a practice squad spot, but the staff may be interested in keeping him around anyway because of his dedication and inspirational story.
CB Brandon McGee– the Rams finally cut bait with McGee, who’s been injured for a large chunk of his two-plus seasons with the team. He participated in just one training camp practice this season and couldn’t do anything to dig himself out of the hole he created for himself by being so limited by injuries last season.
DT Louis Trinca-Pasat- after being quiet for the early part of the preseason, Trinca-Pasat was quite productive over the latter part of the exhibition schedule, so it was somewhat surprising to see him let go. Especially due to the Rams’ lack of depth at DT on the 53-man roster, Trinca-Pasat would appear to be a prime practice squad candidate.
LB Marshall McFadden– during the early preseason, McFadden looked like he had a good shot at winning a job on the 53-man roster due to his aptitude on special teams, but he was passed up over the past few weeks by rookies Bryce Hager and Cameron Lynch. McFadden is no longer practice squad eligible (and frankly should not be on one at 29 years of age), so the Rams will have to look elsewhere if they want extra linebacker depth.
DT Marcus Forston– there never seemed to be much of a chance that Forston would make the 53-man roster, as he was brought in about a week into training camp to provide depth as the Rams struggled with injuries on the defensive interior. Forston was mainly limited to mop-up work late in preseason games, so his release was not surprising.