APFor the Rams, Titus Young’s talent trumped the trouble he’s been known to cause. For the NFL’s other 31 teams, he wasn’t worth the headaches.
Mike Garafolo of USA Today first reported, and PFT has confirmed, that the Rams were the only team to put in a waiver claim for Young today.
When the Lions placed Young on waivers, every NFL team had the opportunity to put in a claim for him, and there’s really no cost associated with having him: If he causes problems or just doesn’t look like a good fit with the team, you can cut him at any point before the start of the regular season without taking a financial hit.
That would seem to make him a tempting player to claim, because Young is a talented receiver: He was a starter for most of his first two seasons after the Lions took him in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, and he caught 81 passes for 990 yards and 10 touchdowns in 26 games. A 23-year-old who has the proven ability to produce in the passing game like that doesn’t become available very often.
But the risk with Young is that he’ll cause real problems for a team: Young wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill problem child, the kind of guy who shows up late to practice or falls asleep in meetings. Young’s issues included punching a teammate at practice and purposely lining up in the wrong place during a game because he was mad that the Lions’ coaches weren’t calling plays in which he was the primary receiver. A player like that can really damage a team.
So Rams coach Jeff Fisher is taking on a real risk by acquiring Young. A risk that 31 other coaches didn’t want to take.
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They will release him before the season starts he is garbage.
Out of a group of 31, there will be at least one greedy team that will reward bad behaviour.
Thanks a lot, Rams. Keep encouraging these idiots.
Wow, as a Ram’s fan not excited about this at all. The Ram’s are an up and coming team and the last thing we need is this dufus to come in and ruin the chemistry that’s being built
I hope they cut him within the month
Come on over to the Panthers dude. Smith is about to retire so we will need to replace him with someone who shares his affinity of punching his own teammates.
None of the other teams wanted to upstage Calvin Johnson.
Nobody wanted to take too big of a risk on Janoris Jenkins in the draft and look how That has worked out for Fisher… The kid is a stud.
If Fisher can get through to Titus Young this could be a huge signing for the Rams.
Nice. He will have the much accomplished Sam Bradford throwing to him
Wonder if he has a career back-up plan? Because he may need one soon.
Maybe he just go from sport to sport, claiming he is better than everyone else…next stop the NHL.
Fisher won’t put up with his antics, and Titus better know it.
Just ask Givens and Jenkins – both missed curfew for @SF, therefore they were deactivated and had to run the steps in their stadium the next day.
Titus would probably just be out right cut.
Get the 3 most intimidating guys on the team to welcome him and lay down the law.
“Calvin Johnson would have cleared waivers, at least someone wanted ME!” – Titus Young
Sounds to me like TY knew what he was doing. The team was dead last in their division. I’d be pissed too if I was him. Who cares if Calvin breaks a record when the team sucks that bad. Spread the ball around and win some games why don’t cha? And punching teammates, that sounds like stuff star players like Romanowski and Steve Smith do, so what’s the issue? He’s fiesty and sick of losing, looks like a star in the making!
I think they will soon be figuring out why they were the only team.
So, a WR that averages 38 ypg “doesn’t become available very often”?
Michael David Smith: At age 23? No, they don’t. If you think I’m wrong, please list some of the 23-year-old wide receivers who have averaged 38 yards a game who have been released recently.
With Givens and Young taking the safeties deep and Amendola and Kendricks/Ertz working the middle, good luck covering them all. And if Quick can be the player he’s expected to be, the Rams suddenly have one of the best offenses in the NFC with a Top 10 defense to go with it.
What Rob Ryan meant was, Titus Young would be out of work for five minutes…..
Low risk, high reward. Fisher won’t let him damage the team. I wonder if this means the Rams will not draft wr in first round and/or this means Amendola’s contract negotiations will be affected. Can Young be a number one receiver? I think this is a smart move regardless. Now the Rams need two safeties, ot, og, olb. Then they can make NFC west interesting. PS. 49ers got hosed. Now you know how 2001 Rams feel. Can the commish destroy all the tapes?
If the Lions don’t want you, beware!
Nah…he might play against Kam Chancellor twice a year. That’ll straighten him right up.
All it takes is the right situation for a guy to flourish. Hopefully he grows up and is humbled knowing he got
All it takes is the right situation for a guy to flourish. Hopefully he grows up and is humbled knowing he got passed on by 31 teams.
deangelo23hall says:Feb 5, 2013 5:42 PM
Nice. He will have the much accomplished Sam Bradford throwing to him
At least Bradford will be on the field playing next year there Mr Skins fan
If you don’t think the Schwartz Fisher connection had nothing to do with this you are mistaken.
Talk about setting a program back a couple years!
Wasn’t ‘Fish’ responsible for the waste of talent Haynesworth too? Schwartz is a ‘Fish’ disciple. Apples don’t fall far from their trees.
Wait…I thought this guy was a future HOFer? And only one team claimed him? hmmmm.
Looks like the Titus haters are out in full force today. Hate on haters.
One team was willing to take a chance that will cost them little or nothing. I wonder if Titus will read that handwriting on the wall… I’m betting not…
You had to know that there would be some lousy team that was really desperate for even a minute chance of help.
-laughs-
Throw a temper tantrum because they don’t pick you over Megatron. Classic!
The Rams are the new Bengals, the land of misfit toys…
Of course the Bills would avoid Young, they never take chances on anything. That is why we are on a 13 year playoff drought. We haven’t taken any chances since we took on London Fletcher/Takeo Spikes in 2005/2006.
If Fisher/staff can get him in check he’ll have easily 1,000 yards. I like it.
Haynesworth behaved himself when playing for fisher. He became a problem after fisher was gone.
I wonder if his old college teammate Austin Pettis was the reason the Rams put in a waiver request for him.
Talented kid. No reason not to give him a shot and see how it plays out. Whats the risk? Nothing.. you just cut him. Good move by the Rams.
Him and cortlen are gonna kill each other in practice
How long before he punches Jenoris Jenkins?
This guy has no discilpline and went after one of the leaders on the lions defense in Delmas. Young’s the worst!
comptons most un-wanted!!!
Am i the only one hoping the Lions play the Rams and Young goes across the middle into Delmas’s zone?
comebackid says:Feb 5, 2013 6:00 PM
All it takes is the right situation for a guy to flourish. Hopefully he grows up and is humbled knowing he got
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i thought u were talkin’ about ray lewis until i got to the “humbled” part.
If the the Rams use one of those first rounders on Cordarrelle Patterson the Rams will have a suprisingly talented group of WRs.
In the age of 90-man training camp rosters, why not?
@gbpicksix
Huge difference between smoking weed like Jenkins and punching your own teammates like Young. Calvin Johnson, who I’ve never heard say anything bad about anyone, didn’t even want hin on the team. Fisher has a totally different situation with this then he did Jenkins.
Still wouldnt mind him coming to cincinnati
I’m a Texans fan with no dog in this hunt.
Jeff Fisher is a great head coach, with a track record of not taking anyone’s crap. When Vince Young’s ego got too big and caused harm to the Titans Fisher benched him and cost him his job. Guy isn’t scared to do the right thing, just ask Jenkins.
For a team with that kind of coach in place, and a desperate need for WR help, I’d say the risk-reward is there for a player with that kind of upside.
Hope it works out, cuz Titus is an idiot.
I recall another “Young” who Fisher couldn’t handle. Player’s coach?
fischer has never had an aversion to personell on the fringes.
blmonroe12 says:
Feb 5, 2013 6:08 PM
The Rams are the new Bengals, the land of misfit toys…
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Please point to a Ram player that has been arrested within the past year. Hell make it 3 years. You won’t find one.
I thought there was a new stench coming from the direction of St Louis, this confirms it
i highly doubt that only the Rams wanted him. just not at his current salary.
Michael David Smith: His salary is a non-guaranteed $550,000. Any team can sign him and take a look during minicamp and OTAs at no risk, and if he performs well enough that he makes the roster, $550,000 is very affordable. This isn’t about his salary, it’s about the risk that he’ll punch another teammate or sabotage another play.
Something tells me that this relationship is only going to last until the first OTA.
It looks like the Rams are the last stop of Titus Young’s football career since it’s unlikely another team will pick him up if he gets cut. It will be interesting if that fact is lost on him or not.
Titus Young=HOF=Hall Of Fools.
Actually London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes were in 02 n 93
Tough few weeks for the Rams. First they hire a defensive coordinator without asking him what kind of defense he runs, now they’re the only team who wants Titus Young. They’re not looking like an intelligently run franchise right now.
Nice one, Rams. Let me know how that’s working out for you when he decides to sucker punch Sam Bradford just like he did to Delmas.
I am a Rams fan and most Rams fans don’t know real talent if it hit them in their face. A majority of this fan base thinks Danny Amendola is a really good WR. Titus Young, in limited action, has 10 receiving TD’s in 2 seasons. Danny Amendola, who has started for the better part of 4 seasons with the team, has just 7 TD’s in 4 years. The team can’t score TD’s. Titus Young is the teams best WR right now. I love the move and come September the same idiots that complained about the Rams Drafting Janoris Jenkins because of off the field issues and are not complaining of Young will be proven wrong again
Haynesworth behaved himself when playing for fisher. He became a problem after fisher was gone.
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Except for that time he stomped on a guy’s head…
Punching teammates or missing curfew is nothing. The man sabotaged his teams plays on the field! Does any player, no matter how unhappy, do that? Ever?!
he WANTS to get cut, until he gets picked up by a contender. it’s a classic way of picking where he plays, when he’s not eligible otherwise
As a Rams fan i love it !!
This guy better learn fast to be thankful.
maybe they think he is the new cris carter?
blmonroe12 says:
Feb 5, 2013 6:08 PM
Please point to a Ram player that has been arrested within the past year. Hell make it 3 years. You won’t find one.
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Robert Quinn DUI 2012
Janoris Jenkins Pot 2011
and even though it’s been well beyond three years the Rams should always catch flack for keeping Leanord Little on their roster for so long.
Great news for any team looking to draft a WR this year– one less team in competition for your favorite rookie WR.
dude could be the no. 1 receiver for the rams. must have been frustrating for a guy with talent to have to run routes every game watching stafford force-feed megatron the ball.
Hmmm… I wonder if more than one team would have claimed Calvin Johnson for $550k…
“rob6465 says:
Feb 5, 2013 6:12 PM
Haynesworth behaved himself when playing for fisher. He became a problem after fisher was gone.”
No. He behaved himself until he got the huge contract and knew he could spend the rest of his life fat, drunk and lazy on the signing bonus alone and it no longer mattered to him how he performed on the field.
Why did anyone???
He’s a nothing and shame on Schwartz’s ex-boss Fisher for not doing more homework.
Isn’t Finnegan on that team too. Practice should be interesting.
Great pick up. STL has quietly stacked this team with talent. They will have one of the deepest WR cores in the league next year. They are only a few acquisitions away from being a great team.
Is Sam Bradford elite ?
I think the Rams team is too young to handle Titus.
Titus better take his chance with Jenkins, because Finnegan would kill him..
For the idiots who say Stafford force fed Calvin, you might want to watch games, Calvin was just the most reliable target. Titus started for the Lions for 2 years and was a part of this years league leading team in dropped passes. Titus couldn’t get it done in Detroit with Calvin getting doubled and tripled every game and he had Stafford at QB. Good luck with the rams with no one getting doubled and Sam crapford at QB. Hahaha now everyone will see how little talent he actually has, I mean do you really think he chose Boise st. over all the big programs? Mayhew was an idiot drafting him in the 2nd round, same with injury prone Broyles. I can’t wait to see who he drafts this year that won’t be on our team in 3yrs
Robert Quinn DUI 2012
Janoris Jenkins Pot 2011
and even though it’s been well beyond three years the Rams should always catch flack for keeping Leanord Little on their roster for so long.
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Jenkins wasn’t on the Rams roster in 2011, so no that wouldn’t make him a Ram. Fisher has had success with turning knuckle heads around. The only one on there is Quinn, forgot about him.
But calling them the new Bengals is ridiculous. No one has been arrested as a Ram and has had to face jail time. This isn’t the Cowboys, Lions, or the Bengals.
Im hoping it pays off but I agree why not take a chance on him. Fisher will have him on a tight leash. Im just hoping hes not dumb enough to not know this is his last chance. Hes def arrogant and talented and I love the direction fisher has the Rams goin just hope they stick around long enough for me to see em in the playoffs
To: iced107
Its a long offseason, which is when most players get into trouble. My bet is at least one or more rams players get arrested in the offseason, and you can take that to the bank.
I think it was a strewd signing for the Rams. When rebuilding a team from scratch, you have to take some chances on guys to get back to respectability. As long as they fill a hole for a few years, that buys the Rams time to address other needs.
Plus he will be reunited with his pal Austin Pettis from Boise State. This will work out.
I agree that the Schwartz/Fisher connection is the reason. I say Fisher keeps him on the bench as a favor to Schwartz.
So Rams coach Jeff Fisher is taking on a real risk by acquiring Young. A risk that 31 other coaches didn’t want to take.
Define “real risk” – because there doesn’t appear to be much “risk” here. Risk implies that you have something to lose.
This isn’t like the Redskins signing Albert Haynesworth or even trading away a ransom in draft picks for a QB with one impressive college season.
Haynesworth and his $100 million contract backfired and RGIII turned out to be a success (although he did suffer a major knee injury that may prevent him from attaining his full potential)
For the bozo who was skeptical about Young’s eagerness to play against Kam Chancellor and the Seahawks – Young had 9 catches for 100 yards and two TDs against them this year.
Won’t work! U thought Randy Moss was quiet all year??and a good team player?? Wait till the spotlight hits!
as long as Delmas now winds up in Seattle, San Fran or Arizona…. this is going to be great fun.
Wow, 31 teams passed on a guy that is better then his ex-teammate that just set the NFL record for yards in a season???
The Jenkins thing seems to have worked for Fisher, so if he can work a miracle on Young, then they will have a great receiver. No, he is NOT better than Calvin, but he is a talent, that if he can get his ego and mouth in check, can be a real contributor with a great QB throwing to him.
I think ideally nobody would have picked him up and he would have had to make the effort to convince a team to give him a shot. It would require some humility. Perhaps 31 of 32 passing on him will provide some of that, but I’d have preferred him having to go the tryout route
You cant call bradford great but im hoping being under the same system for a couple years that he will be. I dont even count his second years mcdaniels contributed to his regression. Lets see how he does in 2013
I’m surprised someone picked him up, but I’m even MORE surprised that it was the Rams and not the Raiders.