* Justin King's season is officially over due to a shoulder injury that requires surgery.
Let me start by first tipping my hat to Justin. He fought off his reputation as a fragile player this season. He was the one CB on the training camp roster to make it this deep into the season, and he played through several different injuries. Whoever has Justin next year has a guy who's shown he has some toughness at his core.
I say whoever, however, hoping like hell King's not back with the Rams in 2012. I'm not sure there's a living human being he can cover. Need proof? Pro Football Focus ranks King the WORST cover corner in the NFL this season. Supposedly a speed guy, he's easy to whip with deep speed (See: Smith, Torrey). He's easily fooled on WR screens and end-arounds. Gets out of position very easily. Far too soft in zone defense. How many times this year did he just let receivers catch first downs right in front of him? OK, but not high impact, in run support.
There's little evidence Justin King belongs in this league or should have a job in it next season, but best of luck to him in his recovery and with his future prospects. (Hey, it was just Christmas, after all.)
I have completely lost count, but assuming King is officially IR'ed, I believe it will make him the ELEVENTH cornerback to have been IR'ed by the Rams this season.
Other injuries:
- Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley are still considered day-to-day, with Steve Spagnuolo leaving the lunatic idea open of either playing against San Francisco Sunday. The 49ers still need to lock up the #2 seed, so they'll be playing their starters. What they should be doing is thanking the Rams. If not for the Rams' unimaginable win earlier this year over the Saints, the 49ers would probably be stuck playing in the first round.
- Chris Long and Josh Gordy played Sunday, may be limited in practice this week, but aren't expected to miss the finale. Fred Robbins is sick but should still make practice tomorrow.
Transactions:
More brilliant roster ingenuity by the Rams' front office:
The Rams did not fill Austin Pettis' roster spot after his suspension and actually played a man short Sunday, only fielding a 52-man roster. Because they did that, they actually had to cut Ryan McKee from the practice squad. You can't keep third-year practice squad players there if you don't keep a full roster. So now the Rams are a man short on the main roster AND the PS.
Howard Balzer, who explained all this originally at 101sports.com, speculated that McKee could be brought back this week.
Ex-Rams activity:
- The Panthers called Rams 2011 7th-round draft pick Jonathan Nelson up from their practice squad. I believe he started in their 48-16 win over the Bucs. Nice cut, Billy!
- The Cowboys called Chauncey Washington up from their PS due to Felix Jones' injury. He saw action against the Eagles Sunday.
- Daniel Muir had a tryout with the Packers.
Anything else interesting to add, I'll get it in here.
-$-
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment