PRO FOOTBALL: GREEN BAY PACKERS 36, RAMS 6 : Holdout Hurting Price’s Market Value

Jim Price was in the same place as most Ram fans Sunday, home in Orange County, parked in front of the television, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as the disaster unfolded in front of him.

But Price could have been here. All he had to do was say “yes” to the Rams’ contract offer a few weeks ago, and he could have been in uniform, getting pounded with the rest of them.

It’s hard to imagine a reserve tight end who has averaged 34.5 catches and two touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons would have done much to reverse the outcome, a 36-6 loss to the Packers. But Price would have liked to have tried.

“I’m disappointed,” he said by phone at halftime when the score was 19-6. “I want to be there. But I have to do what I feel is right.”

Where Price sees right, others have seen a puzzle. He has been a contributor since leaving Stanford, catching a combined 69 passes for 734 yards and four touchdowns over two nearly identical seasons. But those numbers hardly give him a lot of leverage. And while Pat Carter, Travis McNeal and rookie Troy Drayton solidify their positions, Price falls further behind.

All this because he still doesn’t think the Rams’ latest reported salary proposal of $175,000 is enough. The club started at $210,000, dropped to $150,000 when he didn’t report, then bumped it up to the current figure.

No matter what he signs for--if he signs at all--he’s still going to wind up with far less than he could have. At the very least, he will miss three regular-season games and lose just over $29,000 if he signs this week for the deal on the table.

But on it goes: Dallas’ Emmitt Smith, and Price.

“I would have thought we would have got this done a long time ago,” Price said. “We weren’t talking about (a difference of) that much money.”

Price said he’s going to try again today, that he’s going to visit Jay Zygmunt, the Ram senior vice president who serves as the club’s contract negotiator.

“I’m going to go in and see what we can get done,” Price said.

Make no mistake: Price has been working out, staying ready. He wants to be part of this team; in fact, he says he still is.

“I still feel like I’m a Ram, but I feel a little ostracized right now,” Price said.

As halftime was ending, Price said he thought the Rams could still win the game, and that he was someone who could have contributed.

“We’re just a couple of plays away,” he said. “I think I’m the kind of player who helps keep the offense on the field. Nothing flashy, but third and six, third and seven, those kind of plays. I think I could have helped in that sense.”

But the Rams were in Wisconsin, converting only three of 12 third downs Sunday. And Price was miles and miles away.