Rams after Shaun Hill a second time
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/rams...cle_b6eba865-2f27-53db-b7f4-f2e523d52e2e.html
This isn’t the first time the Rams have tried to replace Kellen Clemens with Shaun Hill as their backup quarterback.
In 2012, Jeff Fisher’s first offseason with the Rams, Hill was brought in for a free-agent visit but ended up re-signing with Detroit. The Rams ended up going with Clemens, who had finished out the 2011 season in St. Louis under Steve Spagnuolo.
On Monday, three days after Clemens agreed to terms with San Diego, Hill was back at Rams Park for another free-agent visit. Hill, 34, is a native of Parsons, Kan., who has spent the past four seasons backing up Matthew Stafford in Detroit.
With Stafford out with an injury in 2010, Hill started and defeated the Rams 44-6 at Ford Field. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 227 yards, three touchdowns and a 117.6 passer rating.
It was nothing new for Hill against the Rams. Four of his 26 career NFL starts have come against St. Louis and he is 4-0 in those games, posting a passer rating of 100-plus three times.
Playing for San Francisco in 2009, Hill completed 14 of 24 passes for 152 yards, two TDs and a 104.9 rating in a 35-0 victory against the Rams.
In 2008, also with the 49ers, Hill posted 35-16 and 17-16 victories over the Rams, throwing two TD passes in each contest. Mike Martz was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator that season, and their roster included wide receiver Isaac Bruce.
Bruce caught seven passes for 61 yards and a TD against his old team in that 17-16 late-season victory, all but ending hopes for interim coach Jim Haslett to be retained as Rams head coach. In that game, Hill had the distinction of throwing what turned out to be the final TD catch of Bruce’s career, as well as throwing Bruce’s 1,000th career reception.
Hill entered the league in 2002 as an undrafted free agent with Minnesota. He didn’t throw his first NFL regular-season pass until 2007 and didn’t throw a pass last season in Detroit. Over the course of his NFL career, he has thrown about two full seasons worth of passes (954), with a solid passer rating (85.9) and a TD-to-interception ratio of nearly 2-to-1 (41 TD, 23 INTs).
BRITT IN PLAY
Free-agent WR Kenny Britt came and went without a contract during his weekend visit to Rams Park. But the team remains interested in signing him, according to league sources. Britt, who was drafted by Jeff Fisher in Tennessee in 2009, also reportedly has visited New England and had a visit scheduled with Washington.
MORE CAP MONEY
Cortland Finnegan’s free-agent contract with Miami has been filed with the NFL Players Association, and it calls for the veteran cornerback to make $3.5 million in guaranteed salary in 2014. As a result, the Rams will get all $3 million back in a roster bonus that was guaranteed to Finnegan even though the Rams released him.
The Rams aren’t sure when they’ll get the $3 million in salary cap relief. They had yet to pay the actual money to Finnegan, perhaps waiting to see what happened in free agency.
STEWART visits PANTHERS
Safety Darian Stewart, who started six games at strong safety for the Rams last season, made a free-agent visit Monday to Carolina.