Rams Taking Their Loss of Free Agents in Stride

For those of you who thought Ram management was holding its breath during the recent free agent signing frenzy, relax.

The Rams weren’t conserving air--they were exhaling it. Truth is, they couldn’t be happier with this business of unprotected players and off-season signings. For them, this pseudo free agency provided the perfect excuse to do some spring cleaning and rearrange an increasingly cluttered roster.

You think the Rams cried when safety Johnnie Johnson, one of the 19 players left unprotected by the team, accepted a two-year, $1.1-million offer last month from the Seattle Seahawks? If so, no one alerted the Ram tear ducts.

Instead, Coach John Robinson suggested that Johnson, 32, was at or nearing the end of his playing career and that the Rams would survive without him.

You think Ram vice president John Shaw flew into a rage when news arrived that failed offensive guard Mike Schad, a former No. 1 pick, had signed a two-year, $600,000 deal with the Philadelphia Eagles? Shaw was walking on air, all right, his toes dancing happily above the memories of Schad’s inability to start a single game during his four-year, $1.06-million stay with the Rams. With Schad, it wasn’t, “Good Luck,” but “Good Riddance.”

And you think defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur wore black when designated rusher Gary Jeter agreed to a two-year contract with the New England Patriots? A fond farewell--perhaps--but little more. Jeter, by his own admission, was on the brink of retirement for the last two years. By throwing more money and extended terms at him, the Patriots merely staved off the inevitable.

Thank you, said the Rams.

In all, 19 Ram players were made available to the rest of the National Football League; 12 were taken. Gone, of course, are Johnson, Schad and Jeter, as well as defensive back Mickey Sutton, linebacker Jim Collins, defensive linemen Fred Stokes and Greg Meisner, tight ends Eric Sievers and Jon Embree, running backs Keith Jones and Tim Tyrrell and wide receiver Michael Young.

All decent guys. All creditable players, in one form or the other. And all expendable.

Shurmur once described Sutton as the “best little football player in America. . . . bar none.” And cornerback LeRoy Irvin boldly predicted that if Sutton were with another team, he could start. “I’m serious,” Irvin said. “I think he needs to start getting more respect because he’s one of the top defensive cornerbacks.”

Yes, well, the Rams thought so much of Shurmur and Irvin’s comments, that the best little football player in America is now with the Green Bay Packers.

Collins was a Pro Bowl selection as recently as 1985. But that was before he started leaving bits and pieces of knee cartilage and ligaments on local operating tables. Now he’s with the San Diego Chargers.

Stokes recovered a Packer fumble on the very first play of the 1988 Ram regular season. So much for highlights. Stokes is off to join the Washington Redskins.

Meisner signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Chances are his hunting fatigues will go over a lot better there than in Anaheim.

Sievers followed Jeter to New England, a decision that unnerved absolutely no one in Ram management.

Tyrrell shuffled off to Buffalo, where the Bills will put his special teams play to good use.

Jones moved to Cleveland and Embree to Seattle--as if anyone cared.

And Young, under utilized and forever considered a career fourth receiver by the Rams, became a Denver Bronco. By the way, don’t look for a “Four Amigos” poster anytime soon.

As circumstances would have it, the Rams probably did these guys a favor. According to Robinson, Johnson would have struggled to regain his starting position. Schad was an expensive embarrassment. Jeter was a one-dimensional player. Sutton was too small. Collins was down to one bad knee. Stokes and Meisner were destined for the waiver wire. Sievers would have been a third-team tight end. Tyrrell had been replaced by Robert Delpino as special teams king. Jones was no factor. And Young desperately wanted out.

Now they’re gone, which suits them and the Rams fine. The players get new chances; the Rams get some elbow space.

And by ridding themselves of 12 of the 19 unprotected, the Rams make considerable room for another large class of rookie draftees. After all, something had to give on the roster and it wasn’t about to be the five Ram picks that come in the first two rounds. Also, new NFL rules now allow only 80 players in each team’s training camp.

So all is well in Ramdom. Rest easy. The Rams simply decided more is not necessarily better.