Former Ram Stokes Returns for a Meeting

The Rams didn’t deem defensive end Fred Stokes worthy to be one of their 37 protected players in Plan B free agency after the 1988 season, but today they will roll out the red carpet for him at Rams Park.

Stokes, 6 feet 3, 274 pounds, compiled 24 1/2 sacks in his last 53 games for the Washington Redskins. He will become only the second free agent to meet with the Rams since players began shopping their talents March 1.

The Rams gave a similar tour to Jet offensive tackle Irv Eatman, and then signed him to a three-year deal a few days later.

“There seems to be some mild interest from the Rams in Fred,” said Jack Reale, Stokes’ agent, “and hopefully it will grow into something more serious.”

Stokes, nicknamed “Big Play” by his Redskin teammates, racked up five sacks, 14 tackles, forced two fumbles and recovered a pair in his last five playoff games. He remained a productive player with the Redskins the last few years despite a nagging shoulder injury that required surgery a year ago.

The Rams have been assured that Stokes has fully recovered.

San Francisco outside linebacker Bill Romanowski, who has received attention from a number of teams, will visit Rams Park Friday. Cleveland linebacker David Brandon is scheduled to visit here as soon as the Ram brass returns from the March 22-26 NFL owners’ meetings.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, meanwhile, have expressed an interest in looking at a Ram unrestricted free agent, linebacker Kevin Greene.

“We’ve talked about Greene,” Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher said. “He’s an over-achieving, very high intensity player.”