Receiver Edwards among final cuts

ST. LOUIS -- The Rams have reached the 53-man roster for the start of the regular season and Troy Edwards, who entered training camp as the team's No. 3 wide receiver, was among the cuts.

Edwards, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 1999, was with the Rams all last season and caught 18 passes for 157 yards. This summer he fell behind rookies Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald, the team's third- and fourth-round picks, plus undrafted free agent Mike Furrey.

Even Curtis' broken leg, which could sideline him the first month of the season, couldn't save Edwards' job as coach Mike Martz decided to go with youth.

"They're a very talented group and you're going to have to bite the bullet for a little while with them," Martz said. "But I think the best thing we can do is play them."

The Rams signed cornerback Fred Weary, released earlier this summer by the 49ers, and acquired safety Rich Coady from the Indianapolis Colts to fill the gap on an injury-plagued position. Coady will be the backup strong safety.

Among the 10 cuts was safety Kim Herring, a starter the last two seasons who has a broken forearm and was waived injured. Offensive guard Travis Scott, a fourth-round pick last year who spent all of last season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, was released.

Also released were safety Nick Sorensen, a special teams mainstay last year, wide receivers Michael Coleman and Desmond Kitchings, offensive lineman Curry Dawson and running backs J.R. Niklos and Joffrey Reynolds.

Niklos and Kitchings were waived injured.

The flurry of moves leaves the Rams with 13 rookies, 10 of them draft picks, on the roster. Martz said it's a necessary part of the business on a team loaded with expensive talent.

"They fit into the future," Martz said. "When you have a lot of the high-dollar guys we have on offense, you've got to fill in the blanks with young players that hopefully you can develop."

The team also has five tight ends on the roster, including recent pickup Spencer Nead, but no fullbacks. The team has had a difficult time replacing James Hodgins, who left as a free agent for the Cardinals.

Martz likely will use two of the tight ends at fullback, a position that's utilized about one-third of the time in the Rams' system.

"It depends on how you look at it," Martz said. "If you looked at it as five tight ends, that might be a lot."

Weary played in 16 games and both playoff games at cornerback and on special teams last year with the Falcons. Before that he spent four seasons with the Saints, starting 25 games in that span.

Coady returns to the Rams after playing for St. Louis from 1999 to 2001, when he was plagued with injuries. He made two starts for the Titans last year and adds depth after injuries to safeties Herring and Jason Sehorn, who broke his foot early in training camp.

Noteworthy

Rams coaches called some of the players who secured final roster spots to let them know they had made the team.

MLB Robert Thomas (abdominal strain) and DT Ryan Pickett (high ankle sprain) missed the final preseason game Thursday and Martz said they'll also be questionable for Sunday's opener against the Giants.

FS Aeneas Williams will be limited in practice this week but is set to start in the opener. He's recovering from ankle surgery, a broken leg and a persistent turf toe.