The St. Louis Rams have released veteran wide receiver Isaac Bruce, making him a free agent for the first time in his career. Although the Rams released Bruce, they still hope they can bring him back eventually for his 13th season.
"This CBA deal has kind of put things a little bit out of whack," said Rams head coach Scott Linehan said. "I feel very positive about resuming talks and getting that uniform back on our guy. We'll do whatever we can to make that happen."
Bruce was entering the final year of his contract and would have been owed a bonus of $1.5 million on Monday had he not been cut. The Rams reportedly offered Bruce a three-year deal worth about $9 million, which he denied.
"Isaac has been an integral and valuable member of our organization for a long time, both on and off the field," said Jay Zygmunt, Rams' president of football operations. "This has been a difficult process. However, we remain optimistic that a contract extension can be completed in the near future."
Bruce missed five games this past season to a turf toe, catching only 36 passes for 525 yards. The Rams are still confident that he can play in the league though. The only other receivers still under contract for the Rams are Torry Hold and Dane Looker. The Rams are still very hopeful that they can re-sign him.
"Obviously, we've got to have a contingency plan, but I'm going to look at it from the standpoint that we're going to get it done," Linehan. "We'll address that if we have to. We're talking about a guy that, to me, you don't replace."