Rams News

St. Louis Rams
Team Report posted March 16, 1998
by tsn correspondent
JIM THOMAS St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Look for the Rams to make a major move for defensive tackle Sean Gilbert if his franchise designation is removed. Gilbert, once a No. 3 overall pick by the Rams, asked his agent to call the team to see if they were interested. Interestingly, Gilbert brought his wife Nicole for his visit to St. Louis.

There's a comfort zone with the Rams and Gilbert because six starters remain from the '95 defensive unit that included Gilbert, including one of his best friends -- tackle D'Marco Farr. One of the last marquee players still available in free agency, Gilbert has been courted by Carolina, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Jacksonville and Miami.

"If his mind is right, from an ability standpoint, he could be one of the finest defensive linemen in football," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said.

Vermeil isn't concerned about Gilbert sitting out the '97 season in a contract dispute because he had great success talking Claude Humphrey out of retirement when he was coaching the Eagles. As a franchise player, any team that signs Gilbert has to compensate Washington with two first-round draft picks.

The NFL Players Association has filed a grievance on Gilbert's behalf seeking to remove the franchise tag. But even if Gilbert loses the case, Vermeil won't rule out attempting to make a trade. The Rams traded Gilbert to the Redskins two years ago for a No. 6 overall pick, which they used to draft Lawrence Phillips.

Gilbert could provide a major boost to a defensive line minus two of its '97 starters: Bill Johnson signed a free-agent deal with Philadelphia and defensive end Leslie O'Neal was released.

Farr, for instance, had a career-high 11 1/2 sacks playing on the same front four with Gilbert in 1995. He has had 7 1/2 -- total -- in the two seasons since Gilbert was traded to the Redskins. . . .

Even if Gilbert goes elsewhere, the Rams are exploring other options on the defensive line. Two former Eagles, end Clyde Simmons and tackle Andy Harmon, are scheduled to visit Rams Park. Both once played for Rams defensive coordinator Bud Carson.

But two other options have closed for the Rams. End Hugh Douglas of the New York Jets was traded to Philadelphia for second -- and fifth-round draft picks. Vermeil talked to Jets coach Bill Parcells about trading for Douglas, but thought the price was too steep.

You can pretty much scratch Florida State's Andre Wadsworth off the list as well, after Arizona's trade of draft spots with San Diego. It now appears clear the Cardinals will take Wadworth with the No. 3 overall pick.

That leaves holdover backups Jay Williams and Charlie Clemons as the leading contenders for the right defensive end spot vacated by O'Neal. Between them, they have two NFL starts and one quarterback sack. . . .

In their search for offensive guard help, the Rams made a hard early push at Joe Patton, who re-signed with Washington, and made a late run at Joe Panos of Philadelphia, who signed with Buffalo. Then they basically watched while quality guards like Kevin Donnalley, Jim Pyne, Brian Habib and Aaron Taylor signed with new clubs.

Now, the Rams have begun scouring the discount racks for help, including Matt Elliott of Carolina, who once played for Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan in Washington, and former Ram Leo Goeas. The interest in Goeas is curious, because the Rams showed little interest in re-signing Goeas one year ago when he was a Rams free agent. In addition, Goeas was recently cut by Baltimore. . . .

Will Furrer has been re-signed to a two-year contract worth $825,000, and will be given the opportunity to become the top backup to Tony Banks in 1998. Furrer, 30, was inactive for all 16 games last season as the Rams' third quarterback behind Banks and Mark Rypien. He has played in only nine games in five NFL seasons, starting once for Houston in 1995 and once for Chicago in 1992.

A lefthanded passer, Furrer throws a good ball and earned the respect of Vermeil for his practice habits and approach to the game. He becomes the third quarterback under contract, joining Banks and former Arena League player Kurt Warner, whom the club assigned to the NFL Europe, formerly known as the World League. The Rams talked to Rypien's agent only last week about returning. He has drawn some interest from the Atlanta Falcons.

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