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Rams Sign Offensive Lineman Tony Slaton to One-Year Contract

By CHRIS DUFRESNE
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The Rams got another offensive lineman into camp Saturday when reserve center-guard Tony Slaton agreed to a one-year contract.

Slaton’s signing eased a major concern for Ram Coach John Robinson, who appeared headed into the exhibition season with a makeshift offensive line. But the signing of Slaton and left tackle Irv Pankey this weekend gave the Rams three starters and a top backup in Slaton.

“I think Pankey was the big signing,” Robinson said. “He was a guy everyone expected to hold out awhile.”

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Slaton said his signing had nothing to do with making the team charter for Tokyo Monday, when when the Rams depart for an Aug. 5 exhibition game against San Francisco.

“It had less to do with Japan and more to do with my situation,” Slaton said.

To make room for Pankey, the team released Thor Salanoa, a linebacker from BYU. Now, they must make room for Slaton today.

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Chris Dufresne

Chris Dufresne was the Los Angeles Times’ national college football/basketball columnist from 1995 to 2015. He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He is a multiple national award winner and was named 2011 California Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Assn. A Los Angeles native, he started at The Times in 1976 as a truck loader and literally worked his way up (two floors to be exact).

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