TUESDAY, 3:45pm: The Rams have made several moves to their roster, including promoting Battle, and Nick Wagoner of ESPN (Twitter link) has the breakdown. Here are the details:
Added to 53-man roster:
- T Isaiah Battle
- OL Brian Folkerts
- C Eric Kush
Waived:
Placed on injured reserve:
- G Jamon Brown
- T Darrell Williams
MONDAY, 7:14pm: In the wake of injuries to the offensive line, the Rams will promote supplemental draft pick Isaiah Battle to the active roster, coach Jeff Fisher told reporters (Twitter link via Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Battle will help bolster the offensive line now that rookie offensive linemen Jamon Brown and Darrell Williams are done for the year with injuries, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets. Brown will undergo leg surgery while Williams will have his wrist treated.
Fisher added that in addition to promoting Battle, the Rams will look for outside offensive line help. Of course, with the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, the Rams can only find out-of-house solutions via free agency or the waiver system.
Battle, who had been penciled in as Clemson’s starting left tackle for 2015, decided to enter the supplemental draft instead, citing “family” reasons, including a forthcoming child. Earlier in the year, Mike Huguenin of NFL.com had identified Battle as a candidate to play in next year’s Senior Bowl, writing that the Clemson lineman “remains somewhat raw, [but] is a good athlete who plays with some nastiness.”
Of the seven prospects eligible for the supplemental draft, Battle was considered the one most likely to be picked, with some pundits suggesting that a team could go as high as a third-rounder for the lineman. However, teams were reportedly wary of Battle due to possible off-the-field concerns, so he ultimately cost the Rams only a fifth-rounder. As it turns out, Battle was the only player taken in this year’s supplemental draft.