Michael Sam cut by Rams

[the Brain]

Rams hope he passes waivers so they can sign him to practice squad.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Someone will pick him up if they need defensive line help. He played really well in pre-season, but the Rams are loaded on the defensive front. He's a victim of depth at this point.

 

[buckeye]

Might get a shot somewhere strictly to run the passer

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[HardHittnOzone]

Michael Sam cut by Rams

This truly surprised me. I will be even more surprised if he clears waivers without getting picked up. A lot has to do with the Rams being stacked at Dline so I think he will get on a roster.




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[Aso]

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Michael Sam went unclaimed on waivers.

 

[MrBill]

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Michael Sam went unclaimed on waivers.

That is a little surprising. As others mentioned, he had a solid offseason but the Rams have a lot of depth on the defensive line.

 

[CCBrink]

Practice squad :giveit:

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

Weird...last night some report had the Cowboys claiming him...that article is gone and I assume some weird botched story.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Granted, from Pete Prisco, but here's his breakdown on Sam

Did rookie defensive end Michael Sam deserve to make the St. Louis Rams' 53-man roster?

The answer is no.

Let's put aside the social issue of him being the first openly gay player in the NFL and just focus on the football. Sam did some good things in the preseason, but he did it against backup tackles, some of the already-cut variety.

I went back and studied Sam's preseason games and came away with this conclusion: He plays hard and has some pass-rush ability, but he needs a ton of seasoning.

One more thing: Undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks, who made the team, outplayed him.

Sam, who was a facing long odds as a seventh-round pick, was credited with two sacks against the Browns in Week Three, but the second one wasn't his to be given. He did nothing on that play, and fell on the pile to get the sack. On the first one, he did beat Browns tackle Martin Wallace, who is an undrafted free agent who actually made the Browns' 53-man roster.

On that sack, Sam looked like an NFL pass rusher, which is why I think he needs more seasoning. There is flash there, but that's against backup linemen. I don't think he's explosive enough to win against good ones, although he did beat Packers tackle Derek Sherrod -- a first-rounder in 2011 -- for a sack, but Sherrod has been plagued by injuries in his time with Green Bay.

There's also a play in that Browns game with 7:41 left in the third quarter that concerned me. The Browns have a first-and-goal at the 1. When I ran that play over and over again, Sam was so slow out of his stance that he was still down when the rest of the Rams line was already engaging the Browns linemen.

Those are the things that make me wonder about his explosiveness. Westbrooks, who is shorter and stouter, can turn the corner faster. He's also quicker off the ball, which is why it made sense to keep him.

But all is not lost for Sam. I give him a lot of credit for losing weight to get faster before camp. Now he just needs to learn the tricks of the trade and work on getting off the ball quicker.

That's why the practice squad makes sense. I would be shocked if a team claims him on waivers, which means the Rams will sign him to the practice squad where he gets to learn from good ones in Robert Quinn and Chris Long.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...ings-tape-shows-michael-sam-wasnt-good-enough

 

[Aso]

The Rams will not sign free agent DE Michael Sam to their practice squad.

Sam cleared waivers Sunday. St. Louis will announce its ten-man practice squad on Monday, and Sam won't be on it. The 249th overall pick in May's draft played well enough in preseason games to earn a look elsewhere, but to this point Sam has generated no known interest since being waived by the Rams.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Sam should get a lawyer and think of suing ESPN for the story they put out about him and showering. Sam had a very good pre-season, and was one of the last cuts that the Rams made. For him to clear waivers and then not add him to the practice squad, something doesn't add up.

Like the Tebow situation, why does a team want to have a backup player, or practice squad player, when they are going to have such a media circus following the team? For a player of the caliber of Richard Sherman or Peyton Manning, you can overlook the media circus, but when they are so disruptive for players who are backups? It's just not worth it.

In any case, WWE is trying to be relevant when MNF kicks off, as they have invited Sam to RAW that night and will give him an open mic. I hope he doesn't take it, because that will just build the case against him so far as the media is concerned when it comes to an NFL team.

 

[EmpireWF]

Sue ESPN for what exactly?

 

[MrBill]

Sue ESPN for what exactly?

I think that was a purposeful exaggeration but the complaint would have to be destruction of his pro career chances. No coach wants the ESPN machine pulled up outside of their facility talking about where a practice squad player ate lunch that afternoon.

The one team that welcomes a media circus, Dallas, is allegedly bringing in Sam for a tryout this week.

 

[Aso]

To me it seems like Michael Sam likes the media attention.

 

[SethMode]

To me it seems like Michael Sam likes the media attention.

That's not exactly out of the ordinary for professional athletes.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Yeah, my point was that Sam should consider suing ESPN for the hack story they ran on him about the shower, and potentially ruining his chances of his pro career. He could connect the dots that he was the last cut, and why wouldn't a team add him to their practice squad when other players who were drafted later, or didn't have his level of performance in the pre-season, made the roster.

In any case, Dallas signed him to their practice squad, so it's a moot point for the moment.

The Cowboys made it official and signed Michael Sam to their practice squad on Wednesday.

It was reported on Tuesday evening the Cowboys would bring in Sam for a physical and if he passed said physical, he'd be a part of the practice squad.


Sam, the first openly-gay player on an NFL roster, was drafted by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

He recorded 2.5 sacks in the preseason -- one that was, ahem, money and one that was a little more luck -- and generally played well but didn't look like a complete defensive player in his time with the Rams.

St. Louis also has the deepest pool of talent on the defensive line, likely of any team in the NFL. It was always going to be hard for Sam to make the roster.

He cleared waivers and generated plenty of chatter about why he was really remaining a free agent. But the Cowboys -- who are in dire need of pass rush help -- silenced those concerns quickly.

"None of that matters, I'm excited to be to be joining Dallas, I just want to play football, it's great to be heading back to my home state," Sam told MailOnline on Tuesday from the airport. "It's been a roller coaster this past week but I'm happy where I'm at now.

"I'm just looking forward to being a Cowboy, my focus is on making the team."

The move by the Cowboys is, obviously, generating tons of attention. Jason Garrett, in his press conference on Wednesday, did his best to

"We just want to give him a chance to come in and see if he can help our football team," Garrett said.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24692919/cowboys-sign-michael-sam-to-practice-squad