So far most of the cuts have been fairly simple, largely depth guys no longer needed or undrafted free agents put behind the eight ball by the lack of a full schedule of offseason activities this year. Still, there have been a few notable names that have departed from Rams Park already, though even those weren't particularly surprising.
Full rundown of the cuts after the jump.
While he played fairly well last season, mostly handling strongside duty, Diggs was still part of what was one of the weakest linebackers corps in football, and just isn't as strong an option as several of the new OLB's the Rams brought in this offseason. Plus, with the coaching staff (as well as certain internet columnists), very intrigued by Jabara Williams, the writing was very much on the wall for Diggs. I do actually appreciate the Rams making Diggs one of the very first cuts; letting him go this early in the process will likely make it easier for him to latch on somewhere else.
The other name of note (for me, at least), was tight end Schuylar Oordt. You may recall I wrote briefly about Oordt after attending a practice at Rams Park earlier this month; he impressed me mightily with his lithe athleticism. I was keeping an eye on him and crossing my fingers, but with the truncated offseason a guy like Oordt was just up against it a bit too much. With a chance to show well in full OTAs and minicamps, he might have made enough of an impression to stick around. All is not lost, though, as it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see Oordt brought back and placed on the practice squad. The practice squad was basically designed for guys just like him, projects guys who need work before they're ready to hit the regular roster. I'm hoping the Rams like him enough to keep him around in spite of the limited look he got in preseason; I still just have a feeling about the kid. He doesn't have the build to play the H-back, but as a pure receiving tight end I really do think he could do big things.
Somewhat surprisingly, while Oordt is gone Ben Guidugli is still around, which I find rather exciting. Another young undrafted tight end, Guidugli has shown remarkable ferocity blocking, and I have a sneaking suspicion the coaching staff is keeping him around due to being intrigued by his prospects at fullback. Cutting Britt Miller and keeping a guy like Guidugli would save a precious bit of cap space as well as offering more flexibility on the roster. Particularly with Mike Hoomanawanui proving hard to keep on the field, a player who can flex from tight end to fullback (a role Illinois Mike himself could have filled), might have added value.
Jermelle Cudjo, a defensive tackle who showed well in spot duty last season, was placed on IR. He had been dealing with back issues. He's done for the 2011 season now, but the simple fact the Rams are going to pay him all year to rehab and train tells me they see something in him and may think he could be in line to replace someone like Fred Robbins come 2012.
The Rams also cut wide receivers Joe West and Jared Jenkins, defensive end Kenneth Charles, and safety John Dempsey. West is really the only name there you might know; he was picked up by the Rams late last season and stashed on the practice squad.
There are two more cuts to make today, neither of which I anticipate being notable players. There's still plenty of training camp guys to get through before the really tough decisions start to come down.
