St. Louis Rams, Mark Clayton Still Talking Despite Crowded Receiving Corps

Back before the NFL lockout, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and football players wore tiny helmets crafted from leather, Mark Clayton returning to the St. Louis Rams on a make-good contract seemed as certain a proposition as Steven Jackson playing for the Rams and wanting the ball too much. He had been Sam Bradford's safety net before getting hurt, and the Rams' closest thing to a number-one receiver, and it didn't look like the Rams planned on doing much else to remedy that in the near future. 

Then came Josh McDaniels, and the 2011 draft—which produced Greg Salas and Austin Pettis, not to mention Lance Kendricks—and Mike Sims-Walker. Not to mention Donnie Avery, whose injury led the Rams to pursue Clayton in the first place. But the final nail in Clayton seemed to be his own slow recovery from his season-ending injury. While Avery was out running 4.3 40s, Clayton was still hurt. Exit Clayton.

Enter, uh, the other Clayton: John Clayton of ESPN tweeted that Clayton worked out with the Rams on Wednesday—despite all rumors to the contrary—and is now likely to sign, even though he won't be ready for the start of the season. The timing's actually perfect for the Rams, who still have a number of other receivers to shake out. So look out, Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Gibson, Danario Alexander, and Mardy Gilyard: There's even more competition of the horizon.