Long back, Gaines out for a couple of weeks, Rams add a CB

Chris Long returns to practice, E.J. Gaines set for more tests

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra…rns-to-practice-e-j-gaines-set-for-more-tests

EARTH CITY, Mo. — For the St. Louis Rams, the pads came on Tuesday night and defensive end Chris Long returned after sitting the first few days with some back stiffness.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said it was good to have Long back in the mix.

“We expected that he would be back somewhere around this time period,” Fisher said. “He looked like he was OK.�We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

Long and the Rams have Wednesday off, so it made sense for him to get back in the fold Tuesday and then get an extra day to recover before Thursday’s evening session.

This is an important season for Long as he bounces back from the foot/ankle injury he suffered in the season opener last year. While Long did return late in the season, he was never at full strength during the year.

Simply having Long around is a boon to the rest of the team, according to Fisher.

“It’s not only what he does inside in the locker room and the training room and the weight room, I think the guys really look up to the things that he’s done off the field. … I think he serves as a great example for the young guys to take advantage of your opportunity to give back, so not only do they respect him for what he does on the field but also what he does off the field.”

Safety Mark Barron also returned to practice Tuesday, albeit his work was mostly limited to individual drills. Still, that’s a step up from the sideline work he’s done in previous days.

Cornerbacks E.J. Gaines (foot) and Brandon McGee (foot) did not practice. Gaines suffered an apparent foot injury on Sunday night and will still need to undergo some tests according to the Rams.

“At this point, no (update),” Fisher said. “We’re going to do some more tests. We’ll probably send him down and have him see Dr. (Robert) Anderson but at this point, no.”

Anderson is the noted foot/ankle specialist who worked with Long last year and has worked with a number of high-profile athletes over the years. Given Anderson’s stature, it’s fair to assume there’s at least a little bit of concern about Gaines’ injury. Fisher said McGee is “about a week away” from returning.

With Gaines and McGee out, the Rams were a little light at cornerback and made a roster move to add some depth. They released receiver Devon Wylie and signed defensive back Trovon Reed. Reed played his college ball at Auburn and spent some time with the Seattle Seahawks.

Dave Peacock, the local businessman heading the St. Louis stadium task force, took in Tuesday’s practice with his two sons. Peacock spent most of the practice in the family tent area and chatted with reporters for a little bit. As you’d expect, Peacock is in good spirits after Monday’s ruling that no public vote would be needed to use city bonds on the proposed new stadium. Nothing has changed in Peacock’s demeanor, either, as he remains confident in the task force’s efforts.

Tim Barnes took his regular turn with the first-team offense at center. He had a nice downfield block on a screen pass to running back Tre Mason early in practice.

Quarterback Nick Foles and tight end Jared Cook had a couple of nice connections as Foles hit Cook on a deep corner route early in the workout and followed by floating a perfect pass just over safety T.J. McDonald’s outstretched hands for a touchdown in the shallow corner during a red zone drill.

With the pads now on, there was fun to be had in the one-on-one pass rush drills. Guard Jamon Brown held his own against tackle Michael Brockers and tackle Rob Havenstein handled a rush from end William Hayes pretty well. Guard Travis Bond and defensive tackle Nick Fairley had a brief altercation after one matchup.

Running back Todd Gurley (knee) did some full sprints on the side during the practice and looked to be moving pretty well. For now, he’s still limited to that type of work as well as individual drills.

War hero/undrafted receiver Daniel Rodriguez drew some cheers for his work as the punt returners had a bit of fun catching punts. Rodriguez caught one ball behind his back then proceeded to catch more with footballs already in hand. He got up to four before dropping them.

The Rams are off Wednesday but will return to practice Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.