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INSIDE SLANT

Safety Toby Wright's knee isn't expected to be fully healthy until August, but that doesn't stop him from testing it each morning when he rises from bed.

"I'm looking for a miracle every morning," Wright said.

Wright, 27, was fidgety during the Rams' minicamp. He roamed around the practice field, talking to teammates and picking up footballs and tossing them.

"I'm a little competitive," Wright said. "To show up here and see all this, it kills me. I love the game. I love what it brings to me and how I feel. I'm not ready to stop feeling that emotional effect from the crowd and everything else."

Wright suffered a torn ligament in his left knee while trying to intercept a Hail Mary pass on the last play on the Rams' 34-27 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 7. Time had expired on the previous play, but the Rams were penalized for having too many men on the field.

Wright had reconstructive surgery on his knee on Jan. 9. His patellar tendon was shaved and attached to his damaged ligament like a graft.

Wright has already spent almost four months doing rehabilitation work with the knee. He has been able to jog for about a month.

"I'm three-quarter speed," Wright said. "There is a little movement thing, but I think it's mental. I'll be there."

Wright didn't rule out being able to practice sooner than expected.

"I might surprise everybody, but I'm not trying to do a Jerry Rice thing," Wright said. "When I come back, I come back. There will be hell to pay when I'm back."

Over the past two seasons, Wright, the hardest hitter on the team, has missed nine games, not to mention most of the preseason in both 1996 and 1997.

How the knee injury will affect Wright's speed -- he's already considered more like a small linebacker than a safety -- is unknown.

If Wright has trouble coming back from his latest injury, the Rams' coaching staff has an insurance policy in Billy Jenkins, Jr.

Jenkins, an undrafted free agent out of Howard University, started two games at strong safety in place of Wright late in the season. He had 17 tackles against the Chicago Bears and six tackles against the Carolina Panthers.

The Rams worked defensive lineman Jeff Zgonina as an offensive guard last month, but then moved him back to the defense during their minicamp.

Vermeil said Zgonina's age -- he'll turn 28 on May 24 -- and the club's lack of depth at defensive tackle made the experiment impractical.

"If Jeff Zgonina wanted to be an offensive guard and he worked at it for the next year, he'd be a starting guard," Vermeil said. "I just don't want to take a chance on limiting his opportunity to be a starting defensive tackle."

The Rams' coaching staff feels that the 6-2, 300-pound Zgonina could be a devastating blocker.

"The guy should have been an offensive guard his whole career," Vermeil said. "If he was 23 or 24 years old, I would leave him there and say, 'Hey, you have plenty of time to become a good one.' But later in your career, you don't have as much time."

--Among the rookie free agents who caught Vermeil's eye during the club's minicamp in April were wide receiver Tony Horne from Clemson, wide receiver Tyrone Goodson from Auburn and offensive guard Fred Pollack from Nebraska.

However, Vermeil was reluctant to heap too much praise on any of these NFL long shots. He lauded defensive tackle Jon Kirksey last spring and then ended up cutting him in late August.

"Every year at this time I always get too high on somebody," Vermeil said. "Then I end up cutting the guy. I'm trying to be a little more practical with my praise. The problem is that can distort the evaluation process for a kid. If you are always telling him how great he is, what are you cutting him for? I'm just trying to tone that down a little bit."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's amazing how much better we are. I'm almost embarrassed to think back to how bad we were at this time a year ago. Even the rookies appear to know what they are doing." -- Rams coach Dick Vermeil, on the state of his team.

The Rams might not bring a kicker into training camp to challenge Jeff Wilkins, who struggled through the second half of the 1997 season. Vermeil said he was confident Wilkins, who suffered through a kicking slump in which he missed nine of 15 field goal attempts, would regain his accuracy. Wilkins set a single-season record for field-goal percentage (.882) for San Francisco in 1996 and was a perfect 13 for 13 on kicks during the 1997 preseason. Vermeil said the only reason the Rams would bring another kicker into camp was to keep Wilkins' leg from getting worn out.

FRANCHISE PLAYER: CB Ryan McNeil ($3.22M tender).

TRANSITION PLAYER: None.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: OG Ernest Dye (won't be re-signed); WR Malcolm Floyd (won't be re-signed); LB Britt Hager (a special teamer and backup who will not be re-signed); P Mike Horan (won't be re-signed); C Vernice Smith (will not be re-signed); LB Brett Wallerstedt (won't be back).

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: OG Zach Wiegert ($397,000 tender; initial indication is that his agent wants John Hannah money for mediocre play).

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: S Billy Jenkins, Jr.; WR Donald Sellers; RB David Thompson; DE Jay Williams (was lackluster as Leslie O'Neal's backup).

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED: OT Ethan Brooks (EFA; terms unknown); LB Troy Dumas (RFA; $397,000/1 yr)); QB Will Furrer (UFA; $825,000/2 yrs, SB unknown); RB Derrick Harris (EFA; terms unknown); TE Aaron Laing (RFA; $397,000/1 yr); RB Amp Lee (UFA; $4M/3 yrs, $1.25M SB); DT Chris Maumalanga (EFA; terms unknown); S Gerald McBurrows (RFA; 397,000/1 yr); S Mike Scurlock (RFA; $397,000/1 yr); LB Lorenzo Styles (RFA; $397,000/1 yr); WR J.T. Thomas (RFA; $397,000/1 yr).

PLAYERS ACQUIRED: DT Ray Agnew (UFA Giants; $8M/4 yrs, $2M SB); TE Tyji Armstrong (FA); QB Steve Bono (Trade Packers for 7th-round pick in 1999 draft); RB Kevin Bouie (FA); CB Willie Clark (UFA Eagles; $700,000/1 yr, $100,000 SB); OL John Flannery (UFA Cowboys; $1.175M/2 yrs, $175,000 SB); LB Eric Hill (UFA Cardinals; $5.25M/2 yrs, $1M SB/$3.125M guaranteed); DT James Manley (FA); DT Joe Phillips (FA, had been cut by Chiefs; $1.6M/2 yrs, $500,000 SB); WR Ricky Proehl (UFA Bears; $6M/4 yrs, $1.6M SB); P Rick Tuten (UFA Seahawks; $1.9M/3 yrs, $300,000 SB).

PLAYERS LOST: WR Keith Crawford (UFA Falcons; $1.2M/2 yrs, $200,000 SB); DT Bill Johnson (UFA Eagles; $3.9M/2 yrs, no SB/$2.3M guaranteed); DE Leslie O'Neal (cut); QB Mark Rypien (UFA Falcons; $1.8M/2 yrs, $400,000 SB); WR Torrance Small (UFA Colts; terms unknown).

MEDICAL WATCH: S Toby Wright is jogging as he continues his rehab from reconstructive knee surgery. Wright isn't expected to be cleared to practice until August. ... LB Troy Dumas has a separated shoulder that will probably require surgery. ... Rookie RB Raymond Priester has a slight hamstring pull. He should be healthy for the Rams' second minicamp.

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