Rams waive Austin Pettis

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said in his weekly news conference that Pettis release a function of needing a roster spot at other positions. But..

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 20, 2014

League source tells me that Pettis and practice squad WR Emory Blake were late for a team activity over the weekend.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 20, 2014

http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=11736135&type=story

Monday, October 20, 2014
Austin Pettis released to clear spot
By Nick Wagoner
ESPN.com

EARTH CITY, Mo. — In something of a surprise move, the St. Louis Rams released wide receiver Austin Pettis on Monday afternoon.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said the move was needed to clear space to help at a position other than wide receiver.

“We appreciate Austin’s contributions, everything that he’s done here,” Fisher said. “He made a lot of plays for us. We needed to make some moves with respect to some other positions. I’m not going to go into detail about what we’re going to do but we needed a roster spot.”

However, a league source said Monday afternoon that Pettis and practice squad receiver Emory Blake were late for a team activity over the weekend. The Rams also released Blake on Monday.

That doesn’t mean there’s no validity to the reason Fisher gave but it surely played a part in Pettis’ release and was likely the major factor in cutting Blake. Pettis also was a pregame inactive for the Rams on Sunday afternoon, clearing the way for Chris Givens to return to action after sitting out the previous two weeks.

Givens made a key 30-yard catch to set up the Rams’ final touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Nobody likes being inactive, especially if you’ve been a contributor like he has been,” Fisher said. “He worked right through it. Some guys can mope around and not work hard, and he worked even harder, which was good to see.”

Pettis was already in something of a precarious roster spot after he restructured his contract in early September, agreeing to take a pay cut that saved the Rams $481,000 against the salary cap. The former third-round draft choice out of Boise State had 12 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown in five games this season. In three-plus seasons with the Rams, Pettis had 107 catches for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns.

Without Pettis, the Rams have five receivers on the roster in Brian Quick, Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Givens.

Now they need 2 guys.

1 on the roster, on on the practice squad.

Do they have any more receivers on the P-S? Cause if not, then, I bet the P-S guy is a receiver.

They can put nearly anything on the regular roster. That one might be a BPA.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-report/rams-report-rams-release-pettis/article_861d30c7-b591-5cbd-a61d-30580d7eb309.html?print=true&cid=print
Rams report: Rams release Pettis
27 minutes ago • By Jim Thomas jthomas@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8197

The Rams parted ways with wide receiver Austin Pettis on Monday. And while the timing of his release was a surprise, the end result wasn’t.

“We appreciate Austin’s contribution, everything that he’s done here,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s made a lot of plays for us, but we need to make some moves with respect to some other positions. I’m not going to go into detail what we’re going to do, but we needed a roster spot.”

Although Fisher wouldn’t comment further on the roster needs, the Rams remain light at the linebacker position and that could be the position the team is looking at.

As the only wide receiver on the team not brought in by Fisher and general manager Les Snead, Pettis has been on the precipice of the roster for some time. His playing time was cut drastically last season once rookie Stedman Bailey began playing more over the second half of the year.

And through this preseason and onto the regular season, it has been clear that Pettis was either the team’s fifth or sixth wide receiver once Bailey’s NFL suspension was cut short after two games when the league introduced its new drug policy.

The fact that Pettis was late for a team meeting Saturday didn’t help his cause and helped tipped the scales in terms of releasing him at this point. But there were other factors at work.

For one, Pettis’ contract was set to expire after this season, and the club had given no indication that it would re-sign him.

Pettis had taken a $481,000 pay cut in a contract restructuring at the start of the 2014 season, hardly a sign of having a future with the club. (He did have an opportunity to earn back $400,000 of that amount by reaching certain incentives.)

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the Rams have had trouble giving five wide receivers enough work in games — much less six. With Pettis a pregame inactive vs. Seattle, Chris Givens was in for only five snaps Sunday, and Bailey for only two.

Givens had been inactive the previous two games, but had a key 30-yard reception on third down that set up what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the Rams’ 28-26 upset victory over Seattle on Sunday. Givens brings a speed option to the game that Pettis doesn’t have, and also has more special teams value as a kickoff returner.

Pettis’ highlight moment this season was a leaping 27-yard touchdown pass that led to the game-winning field goal in a 19-17 Week 2 victory over Tampa Bay. But the success of Brian Quick and addition of Kenny Britt has made this an improved wide receiver group, which didn’t help Pettis’ cause.

“I believe that they’ve stepped up,” Fisher said of the group. “Brian is stepping up and making plays. Kenny is doing good things for us. Stedman is going to get more involved. Obviously you can see, we’re trying to get Tavon (Austin) the ball as well.”

Pettis had 12 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown this season. A third-round draft pick out of Boise State in 2011 by the Steve Spagnuolo-Billy Devaney regime, Pettis caught 107 passes for 1,034 yards and nine TDs in his time with the Rams.

With his departure, only 10 players remain who predated the arrival of Fisher and Snead in 2012.

The Rams also released practice squad wide receiver Emory Blake, who also was late for a team meeting Saturday.

Excellent. Not too long ago, Pettis’ level of talent would have made him a starter on this team. Now he’s been cut.

I feel bad for Pettis, but it’s a good sign for this football team.

wv wrote:

Agreed.

I’m a little disappointed in Britt though.
I was hoping he’d be more of an impact player.

w
v

Me too. I didn’t think he would be a high volume guy, but I was hoping for a big play every other week or so. Not even a TD, just a big, physical play.

WR Austin Pettis was not claimed on waivers.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) October 21, 2014