St. Louis Rams Announce 10-Man Practice Squad

The St. Louis Rams announced their initial practice squad for the 2015 season on Sunday afternoon, creating a supplementary reserve of players they can call on to fill depth needs as necessary and serve as the first replacement options in the event of injuries.

Coach Jeff Fisher has historically expressed a preference to keep players who attended training camp with the team as practice squad members, as they already know the system and are therefore more ready to contribute if called upon. With that said, Fisher and GM Les Snead have still gone to the outside when there were clear depth concerns at a position (such as linebacker and cornerback this season), but they did not budge with this year’s initial group, bringing back 10 players who attended training camp with the Rams. One offensive lineman, three defensive linemen, two running backs, a tight end, and three defensive backs comprise the practice squad that was announced on Sunday. As a result, the Rams will have to find some interesting solutions at cornerback, where they’ll have just five available players, and at linebacker, where there are only five healthy options (though safety Mark Barron frequently moves up and plays linebacker, while safety Mo Alexander played the position in college).

Here’s the 10-man practice squad that was announced on Sunday:

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OT Isaiah Battle- It was a bit surprising to see Battle, a fifth-round selection in the supplemental draft this July, taken off the roster at cutdown time yesterday. Stashing him on the practice squad, however, provides a much better scenario for the Rams to develop the exceptionally raw 6-foot-7, 290-pounder. Battle showed during training camp that he was very far away from being able to contribute at the NFL level, and more-polished undrafted rookie Darrell Williams beat him out as a result. By being a practice squad player, though, Battle will have a low-pressure environment in which to polish his skills and progress toward eventually earning a job on the active roster.

DT Louis Trinca-Pasat- Trinca-Pasat was one of the Rams’ more impressive defensive performers over the latter part of training camp, and it was a little bit surprising to see him released on Saturday. He’ll stick around on the practice squad, though, and he’ll be there to provide depth up the middle if the Rams decide that converted defensive end Ethan Westbrooks isn’t sturdy enough to contribute regularly on the interior.

DT Doug Worthington– It was quite surprising that Worthington, who was released in the team’s first cutdown, managed to find his way back to the practice squad. With that said, the 6-foot-5, 318-pound 28-year old was the only legitimate alternative that the Rams had to starting nose tackle Michael Brockers in camp, so he’ll likely act as Brockers’ de facto backup in the event of injury. Worthington was injured himself during nearly the entirety of training camp this year and didn’t get the opportunity to make an impression, but if he can get healthy and sufficiently catch up, he may be a candidate to get promoted to the active roster later this year, because he’ll likely be valuable against run-heavy teams. Worthington should provide a sturdier presence as a run defender than undersized backups Ethan Westbrooks and Nick Fairley do.

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DE Matt Longacre- Longacre made a very good impression in camp, and he’s put himself in a pretty good position, as the Rams face the possibility of having to replace ends Chris Long, William Hayes, and Eugene Sims after the season. For now, he’ll provide extra depth in the event of injury, but if he performs well enough in practice this season, he may push for a 53-man roster spot next year when the pickings will likely be more slim.

TE Justice Cunningham– Cunningham, who will be entering the third regular season in which he’s spent time on the Rams’ practice squad, will be looking to get back on the 53-man roster, just as he was for the latter part of the 2014 season. Since the Rams are entering the 2015 season carrying just three tight ends, as opposed to the four that they’ve kept for the large majority of Jeff Fisher‘s tenure in St. Louis, it figures that Cunningham could have a good shot at making the move up if an injury occurs. Despite Zach Laskey’s presence on the practice squad, Cunningham is also likely still the top backup behind Cory Harkey as the team’s in-line blocking, de-facto fullback.

RB Malcolm Brown- Brown had a very good preseason and made a run at the 53-man roster, though he ultimately failed to beat out Isaiah Pead for a job. It seemed a bit unlikely that he would return to the practice squad, if just for the fact that the Rams were already carrying five running backs, but he ended up returning nevertheless. Brown’s addition is probably a sign that the Rams don’t expect to have Tre Mason back this week, forcing usual scout team back Isaiah Pead to be part of the offensive gameplan in the opener against Seattle.

RB/FB Zach Laskey- Laskey was probably the biggest surprise among the practice squad additions, as his opportunities were very limited during training camp and the preseason. Laskey, listed at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, does not really fit the mold of a traditional NFL fullback, and he actually seemed to see a fair amount of action at his college position of tailback during camp. Laskey can be a valuable practice player for the team in the sense that he’s capable of playing both backfield positions or even tight end for the scout team as needed.

S Jacob Hagen- Hagen, an undrafted rookie from Liberty, had some nice moments during the preseason, and he earned a practice squad spot as a result. It’s difficult to see Hagen earning a promotion to the Rams’ 53-man roster this season, just because the team already has five safeties on the active roster plus 2014 draftee Christian Bryant on the practice squad, but Hagen can continue developing and hope that he showcases himself as a special-teamer enough to make the move up at some point.

S Christian Bryant- Bryant, a seventh-rounder last season out of Ohio State, will return to the Rams’ practice squad for the second straight season. He’s made enough plays in practice and the preseason that he could likely make a few other teams, but the Rams have one of the deepest and most talented safety groups in the NFL, and unfortunately Bryant has gotten the short end of the stick. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Bryant, by far the Rams’ smallest safety at 5-foot-9 and 198 pounds, get some practice work at cornerback since the Rams are so short at that position as things stand now.

CB Trovon Reed- Reed was signed during camp and didn’t really do anything flashy during the team’s open practice sessions or in preseason games, but the Rams obviously felt that he was the best option among a recently-released group that also included Brandon McGee, Montell Garner, and Imoan Claiborne. (It doesn’t hurt that Reed attended Auburn, the alumnus of GM Les Snead and two of coach Jeff Fisher’s three children.) While the Rams could always hunt for candidates from the outside, Reed’s odds of getting playing time this season would seem to be rather high, as he’s the only practice squad player at a cornerback spot where the Rams have just four players on the active roster. The fact that the Rams have traditionally struggled with injuries at corner, and had all their current corners miss time last season with injuries, further helps Reed’s cause.

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The practice squad is shuffled frequently throughout the year, both to accommodate teams’ personnel needs for practice sessions and as teams simply determine that players don’t quite have what it takes to be an NFL player. For reference, the Rams used 22 different players on the practice squad at some point or another during the 2014 season, so a high level of turnover can reasonably be expected again this year. While being on the practice squad means that a player is fighting for his job on a day-to-day basis, it also provides a great opportunity for advancement; seven of the players who were on the Rams’ practice squad also ended up spending time on the active roster, while another, Mike Remmers, was poached by the Carolina Panthers and went on to start a pair of playoff games for Carolina.

Next: Todd Gurley Ruled Out for Week 1

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