Rams : Irvin Decides He’ll Give Rams His Best Effort
LeRoy Irvin, the All-Pro cornerback with an all-low contract, said Thursday that the team will not grant his trade request, so he is reluctantly resigned to returning to his old form.
Irvin came to that conclusion after a telephone conversation with John Shaw, Ram vice president in charge of finance, and a meeting with Coach John Robinson.
The cornerback hasn’t played in the team’s two exhibition games because of assorted injuries, but some players have privately wondered whether Irvin has been malingering to accelerate a trade.
“I’m not going to get this wish,” he said of his desire to be traded. “In order to get that I would have to drastically develop a personality contrary to my own personality. I’m not ready to do that.”
In other words, Irvin has vowed not to be a pain just to force a trade.
He signed a two-year, $1-million extension to his contract last March but was upset that the Rams wouldn’t negotiate the last year of his existing contract, which will pay him $250,000.
Irvin was a starting cornerback for the NFC in this year’s Pro Bowl.
Irvin’s desire to be traded hasn’t changed, he said, only the realization that it isn’t likely to happen.
“I don’t see anything changing right now,” he said. “I don’t think John Shaw has to do anything for me. I don’t expect him to. I told Coach that I’d try to play Sunday. As far as they’re concerned, the contract is a dead issue.”
Irvin has been suffering from a injuries to his hamstring, back and toe. But he said that he could not force himself to play below his standard and that, ultimately, the Rams sensed it.
“They know in the end that I’ll be out there doing my best,” he said.
As for that new Eric Dickerson contract, the Ram running back and his business agent, Charles Chin, have met with Shaw to discuss a way to compensate Dickerson, who is unhappy with the terms of his new contract.
“We’re talking now,” Chin said. “But Shaw is concerned about keeping it quiet.”
Dickerson is entering the first season of a contract extension that will pay him $683,000 a year through 1989.
The Rams are not likely to renegotiate Dickerson’s contract, but they may consider a plan that would supplement his income over a number of years.
“But if it is a deferment plan, we would ask for substantially more money because it (the money) wouldn’t be up front,” Chin said. “In the long run, I think it would be better for Eric. And the Rams I think are more open to do it now.”
A few days ago, Larry Kelm and Robert Cox were decent low-profile Rams just trying to make a living and maybe a football team.
Life changes quickly.
Last Thursday night, during the first quarter of the Rams’ exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks, defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur glanced over at Kelm, the rookie linebacker from Texas A&M.;
“I said to myself that two guys would have to go down for him to get in the game,” Shurmur remembered. “Then two guys go down within a span of four plays.”
They were more than just two guys. Try two starters: Carl Ekern and Mark Jerue, who both went out with knee injuries serious enough to require surgery.
“I’ve been thrown into the hot seat,” Kelm said. “This is my chance.”
Kelm was a fourth-round draft choice who hoped to turn enough heads in training camp to make the Rams’ special teams.
Now, it appears that Kelm might be starting at Ekern’s left inside linebacker spot Sept. 13 against the Houston Oilers.
It could happen.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Kelm said.
Cox, of UCLA, in his second season, spent 1986 on the injured-reserve list. He opened this season two strong heartbeats away from the starting left tackle spot, owned and operated by Irv Pankey and backed up nicely by Duval Love.
But Sunday night against the San Diego Chargers, Cox will start at left tackle for the Rams. He’ll be the one responsible for keeping Jim Everett in one piece.
Contract problems have kept Pankey away, and last Saturday Love went down with a knee injury that will sideline him for a month.
Suddenly, it’s all up Cox.
“I’m here for when this kind of situation arises,” Cox said. “When you sign to play, you commit yourself to pressure. I can’t get caught up worrying about pressure. I just have to worry about my job.”
Kelm and Cox have been put on the spot and how they react could affect their futures. The Rams’ philosophy on dealing with injuries has been to throw the backup player in and let him sink or swim.
It worked last season, when the team was suddenly faced with replacing two Pro Bowl players, cornerback Gary Green and linebacker Jim Collins. A disk injury forced Green’s early retirement and Collins missed the season with a shoulder injury.
Instead of making a panic trade, the team gave the starting corner job to Jerry Gray, who responded with a team-high eight interceptions and a trip to the Pro Bowl.
The Rams replaced Collins with Jerue, who finished the season with 109 tackles, second only to Vince Newsome’s 113.
Ram Notes
Eric Dickerson returned to practice Thursday, but John Robinson said Dickerson probably will not play this Sunday against the Chargers because of sore hamstrings. “It hasn’t gone away,” Robinson said of the soreness. “I want to be careful.” . . . Dickerson’s absence means that Charles White and rookie Gerald Harris will get lots of playing time. . . .
