Rams excuse Warner, Little from minicamp

ST. LOUIS -- Kurt Warner has been excused from the Rams' three-day minicamp that begins Friday, the final sign that the team plans to release the two-time NFL MVP after June 1.

Mark Bartelstein, Warner's agent, said Thursday that a mutual decision was reached "a couple of days ago." Warner has been participating in the Rams' offseason conditioning program, but the minicamp is geared more to team activities.

"It just didn't make sense," Bartelstein said.

Defensive end Leonard Little, facing a felony drunk driving charge in St. Louis County, also will not be at the minicamp. Coach Mike Martz called it an "excused absence."

"He just needed to get away for a while," Martz said. "We just felt it was best at this point for the team."

Little was arrested on April 24 and charged with a felony two days later.

Bartelstein said four or five teams are in the running for Warner but declined to name any other teams. He said he expected the Rams to release Warner on June 2, and that he expected Warner to quickly reach a deal with a new team after that.

-- AP