Linehan sends message, trades Manumaleuna to Chargers

~ The player was traded a day after the team drafted two tight ends.

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan insisted that drafting two tight ends on the first day of the draft did not send a message to Brandon Manumaleuna.

Then the Rams began Day 2 on Sunday by trading their underachieving starter to the San Diego Chargers for a fourth-round pick. Manumaleuna caught only 13 passes last year, was pretty easy to bring down despite his 280-pound bulk, and elected not to make an impression on his new coach by skipping the team's offseason conditioning program.

"Obviously, we want to thank Brandon for his service here," Linehan said. "It's a bittersweet business sometimes."

Linehan said the move was a "football decision," nothing personal.

"The message that I would like to send to people is that we're going to create a competitive environment regardless of the position," Linehan said. "Obviously the competition is the greatest motivator.

"It just so happened that one player wasn't here in the offseason."

Manumaleuna, a fourth-round pick in 2001, made 14 starts last season. The Rams drafted two possible replacements in the third round on Saturday, taking Joe Klopfenstein of Colorado and trading up with the Falcons to get Dominique Byrd of Southern California.

The Rams sent fourth- and sixth-round picks to Atlanta in the deal. They used the pick from the Manumaleuna trade to build depth on the defensive line, taking end Victor Adeyanju of Indiana.

"Definitely, I respect that and I won't let them down," Adeyanju said. "This is my job, this is my great opportunity and I am going to show myself and make the best of this opportunity and do the best that I can for the Rams.

"I swear, that's my word."

Fifth-round pick Marques Hagans was a quarterback at Virginia, but the Rams have him slotted as their new punt returner to crank up a needy position. Hagans returned punts his first two seasons in college, and the Rams have been impressed with his improvisational skills. They also anticipate using him at running back and slot receiver.

The Rams finished with a flurry, picking Northwestern inside linebacker Tim McGarigle, and offensive guards Mark Setterstrom of Minnesota and Tony Palmer of Missouri. The latter two were compensatory choices on consecutive picks.

Linehan said the 240-pound McGarigle could help as a run stopper on first and second down. Picking up Setterstrom, who started all 50 games in his college career, and Palmer, who did not allow a sack last year and bench-pressed 225 pounds 41 times recently, address age issues on the offensive line.

Next season, center Andy McCollum will be 36 and guard Adam Timmerman will be 35.

"We're getting older in there," Linehan said. "It's reality."

The 6-2, 330-pound Palmer was one of two players drafted from Missouri, with quarterback Brad Smith going to the New York Jets -- as a wide receiver -- in the fourth round. Palmer is the first Missouri player taken by the Rams since running back Robert Delpino in the fifth round in 1988.

"The true definition of a road grader, that's the definition of what Tony is," Linehan said.