The St. Louis Rams have not been shy about making big waves in their roster management.  They have blown up entire drafts.  They may have been close to jettisoning a former first round draft pick and today they surprise everyone again.  According to Nick Wagoner at Stlouisrams.com the Rams have just released starting linebacker Chris Draft.

Draft has been a solid player during his time in St. Louis.  General Manager Billy Devaney was quoted by the team's website saying "We are continually evaluating our roster and like every move we make we believe this is in the best interest of the team."  It is reported by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Draft was asked to take a pay cut.  Draft refused and the Rams released him.

A couple of things come to mind for me.  First the timing of this sure seems odd.  Larry Grant was pushing Draft for the starting position during training camp but Grant was injured in the last game against the Chiefs and will not be available on Sunday.  Why would you release him if there is no immediate backup?  That seems odd.  David Vobora becomes the de facto starter now on Sunday against the Seahawks.  Vobora is a nice special teams player and hopefully that will translate over into his play on defense.

This move, because of the timing, makes me believe that the Rams have something else in the works.  They are up against the salary cap and if they did ask for some salary relief that must mean they are going to be trying to bring in someone else at another position (or linebacker) who is going to cost them some salary cap space.  This could also mean they are going to bring in two players (running back/defensive tackle/wide receiver) for the cost of what Draft's space saves them.

What is sad for the Rams today is that Draft was as out front for the organization as any player on the roster.  He was very active in the community and is a nicer person then he is a football player.  The fact remains though that the NFL is a business.  A tough business decision was made today by both Draft and the Rams.  Let's hope the Rams made the right decision.

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