EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams still have one more practice before they head west for the preseason opener and next week's training sessions with the Dallas Cowboys. As far as they're concerned, that time can't come fast enough.
After the two hottest days of camp in full pads and with extra conditioning courtesy of coach Jeff Fisher, the Rams seem ready for a change of pace.
"They did a great job," Fisher said. "We are monitoring everything from a recovery standpoint. They came back really well last night and today. It was back-to-back padded days. Tomorrow, we'll take the pads off and start our preparation for the preseason."
The plan for the rest of the week is to practice Tuesday, get some time to wind down and add what little semblance of game plan there will be for Friday, then travel to Oakland on Thursday. The Rams and Raiders play Friday night and the Rams will travel right after the game to Los Angeles. From there, they'll bus to their team hotel near Oxnard, California to set up shop for practice with the Cowboys on Monday and Tuesday.
The Rams will practice in Oxnard alone on Wednesday before returning to St. Louis.
• Running back Tre Mason (hamstring) was back in a limited capacity on Monday. Same for safety Maurice Alexander. Alas, the Rams also had a couple of new additions on the sideline in cornerback Trumaine Johnson and running back Isaiah Pead. Defensive end Chris Long (back), defensive tackle Doug Worthington, tight end Brad Smelley (hand), guard Cody Wichmann (calf), linebacker Korey Toomer (ankle), cornerback E.J. Gaines (foot) and cornerback Brandon McGee (foot) also did not practice.
Running back Todd Gurley is, of course, still limited. But he did some running and participated in the practice-ending conditioning session.
• Speaking of Gaines, there's still no official word on what his injury is or how long he's going to be out. The Rams aren't required to divulge anything until the regular season, but Fisher did say Gaines is seeing a specialist. Safe to say that he's not going to be ready to go this week against the Raiders.
• With the Rams so light at cornerback, Marcus Roberson -- who has impressed in camp -- took a lot of reps with the first-team defense opposite Janoris Jenkins.
• Took a few minutes to watch the one-on-one linebackers versus running backs blitz pickup drills. It wasn't the most successful day for the backs though there were some good moments. Daren Bates manhandled Trey Watts on one rep, but to his credit Watts rebounded by standing tall against rookie Bryce Hager. T.J. McDonald showed off some strong moves against Cory Harkey and Akeem Ayers did the same.
• Cornerback Lamarcus Joyner came up limping at one point during practice when McDonald and Harkey got tangled up after an incompletion. Joyner tried to hurdle the duo as they fell to the ground but landed awkwardly. Didn't appear too serious but a scary moment for a banged-up secondary.
• A few quick highlights from the practice. ... Really liked the play design that freed Tavon Austin on a crossing pattern for what would have gone for a touchdown from Nick Foles. Foles did a nice job of freezing safety Rodney McLeod with his eyes before finding Austin. ... Quarterback Case Keenum fired a strike to receiver Chris Givens on a deep in for a completion in traffic.
• Talked to offensive line coach Paul Boudreau after practice on a number of topics, but he discussed the battle at center at length. He reiterated the importance of having a player who can handle the line calls and all of the moving parts pre-snap. That's the No. 1 priority so as preseason games begin, keep an eye out for things like miscommunications, mishandled snaps or missed blitz pickups when each center is on the field. Those are the things that will make the difference.
• The Rams have their final practice that will be open to the public in this training camp Tuesday night. It's set to start 6:30 p.m. ET.
