St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Wide receiver Ronald Curry was among the players excised from the roster of the St. Louis Rams on Saturday, as the team pared its roster to the 53-man roster maximum.
Curry, who was dealt from the Detroit Lions to the Rams on July 22nd, was attempting to catch on with St. Louis after catching 193 passes in seven seasons with the Raiders (2002-08). But the former North Carolina two-sport star did not make enough of an impression in the preseason, catching just five balls for 36 yards, and was chopped accordingly.
Others released on Saturday included linebacker K.C. Asiodu, quarterback Brock Berlin, defensive tackle Antwon Burton, tight end Eric Butler, defensive end Ian Campbell, wide receiver Tim Carter, linebacker Dominic Douglas, tackle Renardo Foster, fullback Jerome Johnson, safety Todd Johnson, center Tim Mattran, running back Chris Ogbonnaya, cornerback Cord Parks, running back Antonio Pittman, safety Mark Rubin, guard Roy Schuening, tackle Phil Trautwein and wide receiver Sean Walker.
Notables among that group include Berlin, who started a game at QB for the Rams in 2007; Carter, who has over 1,000 career receiving yards with the Giants and Browns; Johnson, who played in 14 games with St. Louis a year ago, making three starts; Ogbonnaya, the team's seventh-round draft choice in this past April's draft, and Pittman, who started five games for the club a year ago and was its second-leading rusher.
Perhaps the bigger move, however, was the decision to move defensive lineman and former first-round pick Adam Carriker to season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Carriker started 25 of a possible 32 games over his first two seasons in the league, but injured his left shoulder in the team's final preseason game and was shut down for the season.
Another Rams d-lineman, Eric Moore, was also placed on season-ending IR. Moore, who was dealing with a hand injury, played in seven games with St. Louis last season.
The Rams begin the 2009 regular season on Sept. 13, when they open the Steve Spagnuolo era by traveling to meet the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks.