Sunday, Sep. 06, 2009

Pittman is released as Rams trim roster

Null wins battle to be the third quarterback

ST. LOUIS -- Running back Antonio Pittman, who started five games and rushed for 296 yards last season, was among the players cut by the St. Louis Rams on Saturday to get their roster down to the NFL limit of 53 players.

Defensive tackle Adam Carriker, a first-round pick in 2007 NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury sustained in the Rams' final preseason game.

Defensive end Eric Moore also has been lost for the season. He was placed on injured reserve because of a hand injury.

Guard John Greco has a broken wrist that will require surgery. He'll be sidelined at least two to three weeks.

With rookie running back Chris Ogbonnaya, a seventh-round pick out of Texas, also released, the Rams have only one healthy running back -- Kenneth Darby -- behind starter Steven Jackson.

The only other running back on the roster is Samkon Gado, who has cartilage damage to his ribs.

Gado's availability for the team's season opener against the Seattle Seahawks is questionable, Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

Safety Todd Johnson, who started three games and tied for third on the team with 13 special teams tackles last season, and quarterback Brock Berlin, also were released.

The Rams kept Craig Dahl and David Roach as their backup safeties over Johnson.

Berlin was beaten out for the job of No. 3 quarterback by rookie Keith Null, a sixth-round draft pick out of West Texas A&M.

The rest of the Rams' cuts were: wide receivers Ronald Curry, Tim Carter and Sean Walker, linebackers K.C. Asoidu and Dominic Douglas, defensive tackle Antwan Burton, defensive end Ian Campbell, tight end Eric Butler, tackles Renardo Foster and Phil Trautwein, cornerback Cord Parks, fullback Jerome Johnson, center Tim Mattran, safety Mark Rubin and guard Roy Schuening.

Curry, acquired from Detroit in a July 25 trade for defensive tackle Orien Harris, had eight catches for 76 yards in the preseason.

Schuening was a fifth-round draft pick by the Rams out of Oregon State in 2008. He was inactive for 15 games, and he didn't play in the one he suited up for last season.

The Rams had a couple of surprises -- guard Roger Allen III and tackle Eric Young -- among the offensive linemen left on their roster.

The 6-foot-3, 325-pound Allen is an undrafted rookie of Missouri Western State, while the 6-3, 304-pound Young is a first-year player out of Tennessee.

The Rams kept seven linebackers, including Quinton Culberson, Chris Chamberlain, David Vobora and Larry Grant.

Wide receiver Nate Jones, a first-year player out of Texas, also survived the cuts. Jones joins starters Donnie Avery and Laruent Robinson and backups Keenan Burton and Derek Stanley in the Rams' receiving corps.

None of those wide receivers has more than two years of NFL experience under their belts.

Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.