Now that the NFL draft has come and gone, and some of the buzz has settled for the time being, the St. Louis Rams made a few roster moves prior to the start of rookie camp that took place last week.
Two notable names were released by the Rams recently. Defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo, who signed a two year deal last season, became expendable when the Rams signed free agent tackle Alex Carrington and then selected Aaron Donald with the 13th pick. And where does this leave Kendall Langford? Langford has two years remaining on his contract.
The other player was running back Daryl Richardson. Richardson suffered an injury in the first game of the season and just never recovered. In his rookie season in 2012 he provided a spark when Steven Jackson needed a breather. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry with a season-long run of 53 yards.
In 2013 his average dropped like a rock to an abysmal 3.1 yards a carry. Richardson was handed the starting job last year because Zac Stacy was injured, and Isaiah Pead was struggling. I’ll come back to Isaiah Pead.
Richardson struggled with pass blocking, and catching the football out of the backfield. It didn’t look like he had the same burst like he had the season prior. Again, he was hampered by a toe injury; maybe that’s why he ran tentatively through running lanes provided by the line. Nevertheless, he was picked up quickly by the New York Jets.
Now Pead was reportedly shopped by the Rams on draft day. There were no takers for the second-round pick a couple of weeks ago during the draft.
Pead has been a major disappointment since his arrival. And to be honest I couldn’t envision a market for him. Pead has amassed a grand total of 169 yards from the line of scrimmage in two seasons and still has yet to score his first NFL touchdown.
Unlike Richardson, Pead does fine with pass protection and fell into a role on special teams for the Rams. But, that’s not why they drafted Pead. The Rams drafted him to be a building block and join the supporting cast of players alongside QB Sam Bradford and help get this bland, raggedy offense to respectability.
They are still looking for the 2012 Senior Bowl MVP or 2011 Big East Player of the year with over 3,200 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns to appear. That’s probably why the Rams favored Tre Mason in the draft.
Now with the addition of Mason and the strong year put together by Stacy and Bennie Cunningham, Pead has become expendable. And we’ll see how he reacts to this chance to make one good final impression – if not for the Rams, maybe for another team in need.
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