Rams Consider Bringing Back Phillips

The St. Louis Rams, suddenly short of running backs, are considering giving Lawrence Phillips another look.

“You have to consider it because we still have a lot of games to play,” Ram Coach Dick Vermeil told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Phillips rushed for 1,265 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in 25 games with the Rams before being released last November. He finished the 1997 season with Miami but was cut by the Dolphins in the preseason.

Running back Greg Hill broke his right leg in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 34-33 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Hill underwent surgery Monday and is expected to be out eight to 10 weeks.

The Rams are considering other unemployed backs as well as Phillips--Rodney Hampton, George Jones, and former Ram back David Thompson.

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Running back Terry Kirby, released earlier this year in a salary cap move by the San Francisco 49ers, was re-signed. The 49ers waived linebacker Randy Neal and defensive tackle Angel Rubio. . . . The winless Washington Redskins released rookie kicker David Akers and signed veteran Cary Blanchard. . . . Chicago punter Todd Sauerbrun will be out the rest of the season because of torn ligaments in his left knee. The Bears will sign veteran Mike Horan as a replacement for Sauerbrun. Former Bear defensive end Alonzo Spellman has been given more time to find a local attorney to defend him on a felony weapons charge and other counts related to a June traffic stop. . . . Jacksonville running back James Stewart was found to have a partially torn ligament in his left knee, meaning his season is probably over. . . . Cincinnati Bengal cornerback Corey Sawyer will be out at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.