Rams coaches apparently saw enough of Marc Bulger Saturday night against Baltimore, so Bulger will make way for quarterback Trent Green, who will start Thursday night against his former team in Kansas City.


Coach Scott Linehan said Green will start "so that he can get prepared for a game as if he were the starter. Marc has a lot of snaps in the preseason; a lot more than he’s had at this point (in the past). I feel really comfortable with the 42 snaps he had last week. Trent has really had limited work and I think he could use some time out there on the field.”


It makes sense that most of the first-team offensive line will play, but Linehan wouldn't commit to specifics yet.


“Some," Linehan said when asked if the No. 1 line will play. "I don’t know, I haven’t decided on anyone else, but I have decided on Trent. As we get closer to the game we’ll figure it out, but everybody’s going (on the trip) so everyone is going to be there and be ready to play and prepare to play because it’s our next game on our schedule.”


Said Green, about going back to play at Arrowhead Stadium, "I had a great six years there; a lot of great memories."


Five of those years were played with Al Saunders, now with the Rams, as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator. Rams quarterbacks coach Terry Shea was in Kansas City for three of those seasons.


Asked if those relationships meant Green needed less work in games, Linehan said, "We can’t assume, just because he’s a vet who knows the system, that he can just go out there and turn it on, although I would bet on him more than a lot of guys. He needs to go out and play and get his snaps in. This gives him a chance in a game to go out and find his rhythm, too, so he’s not going into the season, if we ever call upon him or needed to call upon him, cold without reps."


After Green, Brock Berlin and Bruce Gradkowski will have their final chance to win the No. 3 job behind Bulger and Green.


“This is a big game for them," Linehan acknowledged. "Even before Bruce got here and for Brock, the whole offseason and the whole thing, it’s been important for our No. 3 quarterback position and the progress from that position. We’ve felt very good about both of their progress and I think the competition has really raised their level of play.”


Linehan further affirmed that running back Steven Jackson is unlikely to play against the Chiefs. "(We) haven’t ruled it out, but his likelihood’s low right now that he would play.” Linehan added that he's pleased with the work Jackson has done during his six days with the team since reporting.


"He’s had really a hard, hard four or five days," Linehan said. "We’ve put him through a lot of work, mentally and physically and conditioning which he expected and was very willing to do certainly. I’m pleased with where he’s at. He was really sharp today and I was happy to see that because you always worry about having a little rust on you if you haven’t been out there in a while.”


SIMPLY NOTING

*The Rams reduced their roster to 76 Tuesday since Jackson is exempt and does not count. Rookie cornerback Justin King was placed on injured reserve, while kicker Justin Medlock, wide receiver Shaine Smith and running back Tavarus Giles were placed on waivers. Assuming Jackson's exemption is not lifted for Thursday's game, 23 players must be knocked off the roster by 3 p.m. Saturday.


*Linebacker David Vobora returned to practice Tuesday for the first time since suffering an ankle injury Aug. 16 against San Diego. With Will Witherspoon, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Quinton Culberson, Chris Draft and rookie Chris Chamberlain virtually assured of jobs, Vobora is competing with Tim McGarigle and Marc Magro for one, or at most two, roster spots.


*Witherspoon remained out of practice with what Linehan described as "a pretty sore groin." ... Tight end Joe Klopfenstein did not practice, but was on the field after being hospitalized because of an adverse reaction to antibiotics that were administered to treat an infected knee. … Nose tackle Willie Williams left practice for undisclosed reasons.


*Unlike most road trips, the Rams won't leave for Kansas City until the day of the game. Normally, teams travel the day before games, and that is required by the league in the regular season. Said Linehan, "It is a short trip, so it enables us to get a little bit more work done here at home. Really, you kind of lose a day if you travel on a short week. We got a lot of work done in the last two days and we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Pace Back, Bentley Visits; Busy Day at Russell Training Facility

Forty hours after defeating Baltimore Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome, the Rams were back on the practice field in shorts Monday for one of just two practices prior to Thursday night's preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.

And a newsworthy afternoon it was.

Returning to practice (in no particular order) were left tackle Orlando Pace, free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, strong safety Jerome Carter, running back Brian Leonard and tight end Anthony Becht. Pace took the majority of reps in team segments, although Adam Goldberg also worked at left tackle.

Out with new injuries were middle linebacker Will Witherspoon (groin), tight end Joe Klopfenstein (knee), wide receivers Drew Bennett (hip flexor) and Dante Hall (ankle) and cornerback Darius Vinnett (knee).

Still out were cornerback Fakhir Brown (shoulder; is this getting old or what?), center Brett Romberg (hand) and linebacker David Vobora (ankle).

In addition, wide receiver Brandon Williams came up limping in practice with an apparent ankle injury, while wide receiver Reche Caldwell practiced despite hyperextending a knee Saturday night.

Is that enough for one day? Well, free-agent center LeCharles Bentley visited the team, took a physical and departed. Bentley hasn't practiced with an NFL team in pads since the first day of training camp in 2006 when he injured his knee with the Cleveland Browns.

He was cleared to practice this past June, and after taking part in one day of OTAs with the Browns, asked for his release because it was clear he likely wouldn't start. It was a questionable decision because teams are reluctant to sign players that haven't played or practiced in almost three years.

Still, agent Jonathan Feinsod insisted "there is a tremendous amount of interest" in Bentley, although Feinsod issued a mysterious "no comment" Monday when he was asked to simply confirm that Bentley was in St. Louis.

As for the players on the Rams' roster, coach Scott Linehan had this to say about the various injury-related situations:

On how Atogwe looked: “Good. You kind of forget the veteran presence that he brings to the back end. He really has been coming on the last couple years for us at safety and I’ve said it all along, he’s been one of our most improved ascending young players we’ve had since I’ve been here. We’ve kind of missed that here this camp and I think he looked pretty sharp.”

On Witherspoon’s injury: "It’s nothing that would keep him out, but we’re going to try to freshen that up a little bit. He kind of re-aggravated it early in the game; played with it. It’s something he can play with, but we’d like him to try to get that thing as close to 100 percent by the end of this week as opposed to nagging him next week.”

On Bennett’s injury: “It was a pretty significant strain from the MRI and that would probably keep him out for about a week normally. I think we can push it here. If we didn’t play on a short week, it would look somewhat favorable for a Sunday game if we were to go a week out, but right now I wouldn’t expect him to be ready go on five days notice.”

On how long Hall might be out: "I think the news is good. I’ve never heard that before, 'slight high ankle sprain.' That’s a new one. I base it (good news) more on how he feels. He had a really good look in his eye and he was moving around really well today. It looks favorable for him come the opener.”

On Klopfenstein: “Joe had an infection in his knee that we put him on some antibiotics for. He actually opened it up again in the game. It was nothing serious as far as that goes, but they put him on the antibiotic IV and he had a slight reaction to it, so he had to spend the night in the hospital just for some precautionary stuff and get him on some new medication and, from my understanding, he’s going to be just fine. It wasn’t anything serious but he did have a reaction to it and he should be out right now, but he wasn’t out as of practice time.”

On whether Brown is closer to coming back: “I think he is. He’s in great shape. He’s running great. He’s still a little uncomfortable and we’re evaluating what to do this week to make sure we do to everything possible to make him feel comfortable with where his shoulder is at. I know he feels better. He’s not 100 percent. He’s getting closer, but he’s been really working hard. I bet he’s in about as good of running shape as he’s been in a long time. He’s running extremely hard here in the last couple of weeks.”

The injuries to Bennett and Hall could create some tough decisions when the Rams slash their roster to 53 by Saturday. With Torry Holt, Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton and Dane Looker assured jobs, the potential unavailability of Bennett and Hall for the season opener leaves the team short at receiver and looking for a punt returner. Williams has shown some ability on punts, but he would be the seventh receiver. Derek Stanley continues to impress with big-play potential, but where does he fit? It's possible Looker would be the punt returner until Hall is healthy.

The real question is how long the team can wait to get production from Bennett. Even when healthy, does he scare defenses? No need to answer that question. It would seem the offense can get at least as much from Looker, maybe more, not withstanding the potential of Avery and Burton.

Bennett is looking like a huge free-agent mistake, so when do the Rams cut their losses, acknowledge the error and move on? It seems clear quarterback Marc Bulger has little confidence in him. Bennett is scheduled to be paid $2.5 million this year, $500,000 of which is guaranteed. He counts $3.75 million against the salary cap. While receiving $10 million guaranteed in the six-year, $30 million contract he signed last year, the signing bonus was $7.5 million. That is prorated at $1.25 million a year.

If the Rams were to simply release him, they would save the $2 million non-guaranteed salary, and he would count $5 million against the cap in 2009 (four years of acceleration from the signing bonus). However, his cap charge on the roster next year is $4.55 million, including a $3.3 million salary, none of which is guaranteed. The extra $450,000 cap hit is certainly manageable, considering the cap will be in the $123 million range in '09.

The bottom-line question is whether the Rams are a better team with Bennett on the roster. From what we have seen, the answer is a resounding no.

JACKSON WORKING

Running back Steven Jackson practiced Monday, but it seems doubtful he will play Thursday night. The Rams will cut their roster to 75 Tuesday, but Jackson's exempt status allows the team to carry 76 players. If Jackson's exemption was lifted Thursday, a player needed for depth in the game would have to be released.

As Linehan said, "We don’t have to lose a roster spot for the game if we weren’t going to play him (Jackson) much.”

As for the work Jackson is getting, Linehan said, "Steven’s got three real strong days on the mental and physical. We’ve done a lot of workouts prior to now. He came in in such a time where we were in game mode and walk-through mode that we had to accelerate that. He’s really had four straight days of some pretty physical workouts, at least on the conditioning side. We haven’t been able to play tackle football yet with him, but we’ll put the pads on him tomorrow (Tuesday) and keep pushing that.”