HEADLINES

Chris Long

Rams Activate Chris Long From IR

November 29th, 2014 at 3:06pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Rams have activated star defensive end Chris Long from the injured-reserve designated-to-return in time for this Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders, reports Myles Simmons of STLRams.com.

Long has been absent from the team following an ankle injury suffered during the team’s opening game, an injury that required surgery. Long had been at practice for the last three weeks and will see his first game action since Week 1 this Sunday. Long had made four consecutive Pro Bowls coming into the season, and his addition will only strengthen an already strong defense.

The team has waived linebacker Marshall McFadden to make room for Long, reports Nick Wagoner of ESPN (via Twitter).

Long had never missed a game as a professional since being drafted second overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He will rejoin a defensive line that includes fellow first round picks Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, and Aaron Donald. With Donald still playing limited snaps early in the season, if Long can quickly return to his Pro Bowl form, it will be among the scariest pass rushing defensive lines in the NFL at full strength for the first time.

Rams Place Chris Long On IR-DTR

September 10th, 2014 at 5:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams formally announced that Chris Long will be placed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (on Twitter). No corresponding move has been announced yet by St. Louis.

The defensive end suffered a left ankle injury in the third quarter of the Rams’ 34-6 loss to the Vikings on Sunday. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (on Twitter) hears that Long will have surgery at the end of the week and could be back in actions in eight weeks. The former No. 2 overall pick has recorded 33 sacks since 2011 and his presence will be sorely missed on St. Louis’ defensive line.

NFC Notes: Long, Newton, 49ers, Giants

September 10th, 2014 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

As if the Rams‘ season wasn’t already off to a bad enough start, with the team coming off a blowout loss at home and struggling to find a healthy and competent quarterback, the club received more bad news today. Per head coach Jeff Fisher, defensive end Chris Long will have surgery this week and will miss at least “a few” games (Twitter link).

Long left Sunday’s contest against the Vikings with an ankle injury, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the veteran pass rusher could miss the next eight to 10 weeks. That would seem to make him a candidate for the IR list with the designation to return, and according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams will indeed use that spot for Long (Twitter link). That would make him eligible to return to practice after six weeks and to game action after eight weeks.

As we wait to see what can go wrong next in St. Louis, let’s round up a few other Wednesday items from around the NFC….

  • According to Cam Newton, the Panthers have yet to approach him about a contract extension, which isn’t his focus right now anyway, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. There was some speculation this week that the decision to restructure Charles Johnson‘s contract could mean the club would explore an extension for Newton sooner rather than later.
  • After cutting LaMichael James, the 49ers don’t intend to add a third running back to their roster this week, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, passing along a comment from coach Jim Harbaugh. It looks like San Francisco will head into Sunday’s contest with the Bears with Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde as its only active halfbacks.
  • Giants punter Steve Weatherford won’t require surgery, but he does have torn ligaments in his left ankle after being hit during a kick on Monday night, writes Conor Orr of NJ.com. It’s not clear if Weatherford will be forced to miss the team’s Week 2 game, but according Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants have reached out to the agents for some free agent punters to put them on “standby,” just in case.
  • Joel Corry of CBSSports.com takes a look at some huge contract extensions signed within the last year and determines how soon teams could reasonably get away from them, if necessary. Among the deals examined by Corry: Colin Kaepernick‘s with the 49ers, Jay Cutler‘s with the Bears, and Jimmy Graham‘s with the Saints.

Rams Rework Contracts For Pettis, Long

September 4th, 2014 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Rams have reworked the contracts for a pair of their players, creating a little more cap flexibility as the 2014 season gets underway. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap has the details on the team’s new agreement with wide receiver Austin Pettis, while Brian McIntyre tweets the information defensive end Chris Long‘s restructure.

Pettis, 26, has agreed to slice his base salary for 2014 by more than half, from $1.431MM to just $700K. In exchange for taking a pay cut, the former third-round pick received a $250K signing bonus. Because he’s in the final year of his contract, the bonus won’t be prorated at all, but it still results in nearly $500K worth of cap savings for the Rams. And for Pettis, is likely means his roster spot is safe.

Long’s restructure was a simpler move, with the team converting $3MM of his 2014 base salary into a signing bonus. That bonus will be prorated across the final three years of his deal at a rate of $1MM per season, meaning his ’14 cap number has been reduced by $2MM.

Overall, the Rams created about $2.48MM in cap room.