The Rams have acquired 30-year old WR Brandon Lloyd from the Broncos for a sixth round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  That upgrades to a 5th round pick if Lloyd catches at least 30 passes for the Rams in the last 11 games of the year.  Lloyd played in 4 games for the Broncos this year and he has caught 19 passes for 283 yards (14.9 avg) without a TD grab.  He has now played in 101 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 260 passes for 4,101 yards (15.8 avg) with 26 TD grabs.  Lloyd will immediately become the Rams’ #1 WR as he was offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels’ go-to man when they were together in Denver.

The Rams have dealt 26-year old OG John Greco to the Browns for an undisclosed draft pick.  Greco played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Rams last year.  He played in 26 games (4 starts) in this three years with the Rams.  The Rams don’t think Greco is starting material so it made sense to deal him to the Browns for a draft pick.

The Rams have acquired 28-year old WR Mark Clayton from the Ravens for future late round draft considerations.  Clayton played in 14 games (12 starts) last season for the Ravens and he caught 34 passes for 480 yards (14.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 28 yards (7.0 ypc) last year.  Clayton played in 76 games (59 starts) in his 5 years with the Ravens and he caught 234 passes for 3,116 yards (13.3 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 25 times for 112 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs with the Ravens.  Clayton could be starting for the Rams at WR pretty soon as the WR corps is pretty thin right now.  This was a outstanding move for the Rams as they got a pretty good football player without likely giving up much in return.

The Rams have acquired rookie TE Dennis Moore from the Redskins for a conditional draft pick.  Moore was a sixth round pick (#174 overall out of Louisiana Tech.  Morris caught 38 passes for 623 yards (16.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs last season for Louisiana Tech.  Morris caught 70 passes for 1,144 yards (16.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs in his career at La. Tech.  Morris is a longshot to make the team so he should focus on special teams if he is going to make the roster.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2010) – The Rams have released Dennis Moore.

37-year old WR Isaac Bruce was acquired earlier this week from the 49ers for a conditional 7th round pick which the Rams won’t have to give up because he decided to retire as a Ram.  Bruce played in 197 games (180 starts) in his 14 years with the Rams and he caught 942 passes for 14,109 yards (15.0 avg) with 80 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 23 times for 150 yards (6.5 ypc) in his time with the Rams.  Bruce retires as the Rams’ all time leader in receptions (942), receiving yards (14,109) and TD receptions (80).  Isaac Bruce was one of the very best players in Rams’ history.

The Rams have acquired 26-year old OLB Bobby Carpenter from the Cowboys for 27-year old OT Earl Barron.  Carpenter played in 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he had 46 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he had 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  He played 4 years with the Cowboys in which he played in 58 games finishing up with 96 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 3.5 sacks.  Carpenter will likely start at one of the OLB spots for the Rams in 2010.  Alex Barron started all 16 games for the Rams last season and he has played in 76 games (74 starts) in his five years with the team.  Carpenter will probably be a pretty good upgrade at OLB for the Rams and for that reason I like this trade for them.

The Rams have acquired 26-year old safety Kevin Payne from the Bears for a conditional 7th round pick in 2011 (the Bears get the pick if Payne makes the Rams’ roster).  Payne played in 13 games for the Bears last season and he had 46 tackles and he defensed 5 passes.  He has played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has 136 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 1 sack and 4 interceptions (147 return yards).  This was a outstanding pickup for the Rams as Payne is a pretty solid football player and any time you can get one of those for a 7th round pick you have to do it.

The Rams have traded 25-year old DT Adam Carriker and a fifth round pick (acquired from the Eagles) to the Redskins for a 5th round pick.  Carriker did not play last season for the Rams due to injury.  The former first round pick played in 31 games in his career with the Rams in which he made 53 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he had 2 sacks.  The Rams were likely happy to get anything for Carriker who was a huge bust for them.  Good riddance.

The Rams have signed 32-year old, 6’3″, 310 pound G/C Hank Fraley to a deal.  He played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Browns last season.  He has now played in 135 games (123 starts) in his NFL career.  Fraley will likely compete with John Greco for the right guard job during training camp and Fraley will be the favorite to win the job.  Fraley is also a accomplished center so his versatility should really help the Rams.

The Rams have traded 29-year old linebacker Will Witherspoon to the Philadelphia Eagles for WR Brandon Gibson and a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Witherspoon played in 6 games for the Rams this season and he had 33 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  In 4 years with the Rams, Witherspoon played in 54 games in which he made 331 tackles, defensed 18 passes, had 11 sacks, forced 6 fumbles and he picked off 1 pass.  Brandon Gibson is a rookie 6th round pick out of Washington State who just couldn’t get on the field due to the deep WR corps of the Eagles.  That shouldn’t be a problem in St. Louis where he should get onto the field as early as this weekend.