There are several reasons the Rams shouldn't have traded for Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson.
-San Diego was reportedly asking for a second-round draft pick and cash in exchange for Jackson. That's a hefty price to pay for the Rams, a franchise that should be focusing on the future instead of attempting to win now.
-Jackson snagged nine touchdown passes and racked up 1,167 yards receiving last year but he benefited from playing on a team with a strong running game and a top tier quarterback. That said, he's better than anyone the Rams currently have at receiver.
-And the big issue: Jackson violated the league's personal conduct policy and is ineligible to play until week 5 (or week 7 if he goes untraded) because of a DUI incident last January, his second drunk driving arrest as a Charger (the first came back in 2006.)
But how in the world can the Rams use Jackson's DUI issues as justification for not trading for him -- as Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch reports is the case this afternoon -- when they stuck with Leonard Little for so many years?
A little history for the uninitiated: Little pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges in 1998 after he plowed into a woman's car in downtown St. Louis and killed her while driving with a BAC more than twice the legal limit. Then, in 2004, Little was charged with felony DUI after Ladue police pulled him over for speeding on I-64 and noticed the defensive end, "had bloodshot and watery eyes, smelled of alcohol and failed three roadside sobriety tests." (Little refused a breathalyzer and was eventually found not guilty of the charge.)
Despite his legal troubles, Little remained with the Rams until the end of last season. He is currently a free agent.
Aaron Schafer wondered in his Daily RFT post yesterday afternoon which PR move would be worse for the Rams -- spending big to bring in a wide receiver with off-field problems or standing pat and continuing to get pounded every Sunday because they can't pass the ball down the field.
Now we have the answer: standing pat and using those off-field problems as a flimsy excuse for their inaction.
Same Rams Who Stuck With Leonard Little Say No To Vincent Jackson For DUI Issues
All material © 2024 Riverfront Times, St. Louis, MO. All rights reserved.
