Rams : When Camp Opened, So Did Team’s Checkbook
Most National Football League teams haven’t opened camp yet, let alone signed draft choices. Yet the Rams, whose negotiating reputations have been so besmirched through the years, continue to dry up fountain pens.
Vernon Kirk, the team’s ninth-round choice, agreed to terms Monday and became the 11th Ram draft choice to do so since rookie camp opened last Wednesday.
All that remains now are the big three: first-round picks Bill Hawkins and Cleveland Gary, and second-round choice Frank Stams.
And not unlike last season, the Ram draft choices seem to be receiving fair market contracts.
“It’s important to recognize that for two years in a row, the Rams have not lived up to their reputation,” Coach John Robinson said.
So what gives? Well, there’s still hope for some knockdown negotiating with their top picks, Gary in particular. Willie Gary, Cleveland’s uncle and agent, said Monday the Rams and his nephew are about $3 million apart.
“We know we’re going to be in a war with these guys,” Willie Gary said. “And there’ll be one less football player in camp if they don’t come to their senses.”
Gary said the Rams have offered Cleveland a four-year deal at slightly more than $1 million, to which Gary responded that he would rather vacation in Cleveland than agree to those terms.
And what of tailback Greg Bell? What would you give to be a fly on the wall in those negotiations?
Still, those cases are becoming exceptions more than the rule. The Rams have become aggressive in getting players in camp, and it shows.
Any theories? For one, vice president John Shaw, whose negotiating tactics have been known to buckle the legs of lesser agents, has all but handed over the negotiating to legal council Jay Zygmunt. Shaw will keep his hand in the fire only with Gary and the troublesome Ron Brown, who made a 100-meter dash into retirement the last time he had to negotiate with Shaw.
The Rams also seem more determined than ever to make the Eric Dickerson trade for draft choices work to their advantage. And that means getting those picks in camp before their talents are lost for the season.
Ram Notes
The team announced the signing of defensive lineman Marion Knights, a free agent who played two strike games for the Rams in 1987. . . . Quarterback Jim Everett has taken out an insurance policy to protect him against career-ending injury. Everett wouldn’t say how much the policy is worth, only that it would make him financially secure for the rest of his life. Everett joins his teammates in camp today. . . . Second-round choices, cornerback Darryl Henley and linebacker Brian Smith, took part in both practice sessions Monday. “It’s a little different,” Henley said of the adjustment from UCLA to the Rams. “Getting paid is a little different, too.” . . . The Rams have 55 players in camp.
