Recent Rams pickup arrested for probation violation
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_cba8b0c0-d8f4-5af6-b061-0dd806ab4e29.html
After signing with the Rams a week ago, former Florida State cornerback Greg Reid made an unexpected pit stop before reporting to St. Louis. Namely, the Lowndes County (Ga.) jail.
Reid was a passenger in a vehicle late Saturday afternoon that was pulled over because the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. In the process of running checks on the passengers, Reid was found to be in violation of his probation agreement — and as a result, was arrested less than a week after signing a three-year deal with the Rams.
“As of right now, he’s still in jail,” Lt. Stryde Jones of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department told the Post-Dispatch late Tuesday afternoon.
According to Jones, it’s up to the judge in the Lowndes County State Court as to when Reid will be released.
The probation resulted from an arrest for misdemeanor possession of marijuana a couple of years ago. According to Lt. Aaron Kirk of the Valdosta (Ga.) Police Department, which made the arrest, violating the probation was either a result of missing a meeting with the probation officer or not paying fines from the original marijuana charge.
Reid had a balance of less than $400 in fines remaining to be paid, and his probation was set to expire at the end of March. But Kirk said the warrant for probation violation was issued in October, “so it’s not like this was a manhunt or anything.”
At Florida State, Reid’s college career had been derailed by legal issues, which led to his eventual dismissal from the program. He subsequently enrolled at Valdosta State in his hometown, only to have knee injuries derail his college career and put any NFL plans on hold.
The Rams noticed Reid while he was performing at Florida State’s pro day two weeks ago and were impressed enough to bring him in for a workout at Rams Park later that week. Coach Jeff Fisher conducted the workout himself.
“He was very productive in college before he had his issues,” Fisher said last week at the NFL owners meetings. “His issues are behind him.”
Well, maybe not entirely. Saturday’s arrest obviously was embarrassing both for the Rams and Reid, who has a chance to compete for a nickel back job in the secondary.
The Rams declined official comment Tuesday, but the team was aware that Reid had some issues to clean up legally before the team’s offseason conditioning program begins April 21. To their knowledge, it was a scheduled phone call from the probation officer that Reid missed that led to the probation violation.
The Rams do not view the latest incident as worthy of releasing Reid. But it’s clear, Reid will be on a short leash once he reports for offseason work, and that would’ve been the case even without Saturday’s arrest.
To wit, his contract includes no signing bonus and no guaranteed money. He was signed to a three-year deal because the NFL now requires it for players signing their first pro contract. His base salary each year is for the minimum at that level of experience.
So in an ideal world for the Rams, Reid stays out of trouble, makes the roster at the end of preseason and contributes at nickel back and on special teams.
The team is searching for a nickel back. If the season started today, that position would be manned by Rodney McLeod.
In the less-than-ideal possibility, Reid stubs his toe once again in terms of an off-the-field mishap before opening day and is cut.
In three seasons at Florida State, Reid had seven interceptions. He also scored three touchdowns on punt returns and returned kickoffs.
He was dismissed from Florida State in August 2012 following his second arrest in 12 months.
RAM-BLINGS
• The Rams have begun their “top 30” pre-draft visits, with Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert, Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, and Notre Dame defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt all visiting Rams Park on Tuesday according to their verified Twitter accounts.
• During a visit with the Lions, offensive tackle Taylor Lewan told the Detroit Lions’ website that his next visit was with the Rams.
• Although the contract has yet to be filed to the NFL Players Association website, league sources told the Post-Dispatch that only $150,000 of wide receiver Kenny Britt’s contract is guaranteed if he’s released before the first game of the regular season.