Sutton, Rams’ Little Big Man, Makes the Team : Defensive Back-Kick Returner Beats Long Odds--for Now; Five Are Released
Mickey Sutton arrived for work Monday morning and was delighted to find his uniform still hanging in his locker.
It was the Rams’ way of saying they still care.
Sutton, the tiny free agent cornerback who couldn’t even get a line in the team’s media guide, was among the survivors as the Rams made their final roster cut to 45 players Monday.
Sutton’s chances improved greatly because of the career-ending disc injury to cornerback Gary Green and the fact that Sutton is a punt returner, a role he has filled in the absence of holdout wide receiver Henry Ellard.
“I feel really good,” Sutton said after practice Monday. “It (the cut) was on my mind Sunday. I just got away. I went to the beach and then to a show at night.”
To get down to the NFL’s mandatory player limit, the Rams released wide receiver Chuck Scott, linebackers Jim Laughlin and Ed Brady, quarterback Scott Tinsley and cornerback Tim Collier.
All of which means little at the moment.
At least three of the players, Scott, Laughlin and Brady, are expected to be re-signed if they clear league waivers. In order to make room on the roster for their return, the Rams, for example, could then place three players on the team’s injured reserve list.
It’s all part of a complicated procedure NFL teams use to work around the league’s waiver rules.
It works like this: A team that places a player on injured reserve on or before the Sept. 1 roster deadline has only one free move to recall a player without exposing him to waivers where any NFL team could claim him.
The Rams will presumably use their free move on linebacker Jim Collins, who is already on injured reserve and out until at least October.
After Sept. 1, though, the team has five free recalls to work with, which is why the Rams wait a day before placing players on injured reserve.
It’s a calculated risk, because if any one of the players the Rams released Monday is claimed by another NFL team, the Rams can’t re-sign them.
The Rams, of course, are hoping that won’t happen.
Ram Coach John Robinson would not speculate as to what might occur, but it’s believed that tight end Damone Johnson (shoulder) and defensive end Alvin Wright (knee) will go on injured reserve sometime this week. The third player might be quarterback Dieter Brock, who is expected to be out at least two more weeks with a knee injury.
If that’s the scenario, Brock and the others would not be available for recall for four weeks.
Of the survivors, no one was happier than Sutton, who last played for the Birmingham Stallions in the United States Football League.
At 5-8 and 165 pounds, he was thought to be too small to play cornerback in the NFL, but Sutton’s versatility in a couple of big exhibition games earned him a place on the roster.
The key may have been last Friday night’s final exhibition game against the Denver Broncos, in which Sutton had a 30-yard punt return and a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“Every little thing helps,” Sutton said. “I couldn’t go in and have an off night. I didn’t really worry about making mistakes, but I knew I had to come in and make some big plays.”
How long Sutton stays around is still to be determined. If and when Henry Ellard returns from his holdout, Sutton would no longer be needed to return punts. Ellard was the NFC leader in that category in 1985.
But for now, Sutton isn’t thinking of what might happen.
Ram Notes Free safety Johnnie Johnson had a long talk with Steve Shafer, Ram secondary coach, Monday. The subject was Johnson’s temporary demotion to second string. Johnson, a starter with the Rams since 1980, missed most of training camp because of arthroscopic knee surgery, an operation that was more precautionary than anything else. He has since been replaced in the starting lineup by Vince Newsome. Johnson wouldn’t talk about his conversation with Shafer. “I’ve got nothing to say about it except to say don’t ever get hurt,” Johnson said. . . . Safety Nolan Cromwell, a starter in the Ram secondary since 1979, is also fighting for his starting job. . . . Veteran Tim Fox, acquired by the Rams last season, started in place of Cromwell at strong safety in last Friday’s exhibition game against Denver. Ram defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said the two players have been rotating at the position in the exhibition season. He also said the competition is very real. “There’s been legitimate competition at all the safety spots this year,” Shurmur said. . . . The Rams and Broncos discussed a trade last week involving Bronco inside linebacker Steve Busick, a six-year veteran from USC. Sources in Denver say a deal is still being discussed. The Rams say the deal is dead.
