If Steven Jackson is going to be traded, the St. Louis Rams are doing their best to keep it private.
Rams officials told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that rumors suggesting Jackson is available in a trade didn't originate from the team. (Note they didn't say the rumors aren't true.)
Coach Jeff Fisher later flat-out denied any trade talk involving Jackson.
"Rumors," Fisher said during a Wednesday pre-draft news conference, via the Belleville News Democrat. "Steven is here, he is in the offseason program. He's upstairs every other day. He's doing great and having fun learning the offense. No discussion, conversation or anything along that sort to my knowledge."
NFL Network's Michael Lombardi reported that Jackson is looking for a new contract. The Rams claim that also is news to them. Jackson, meanwhile, was "taken aback" by suggestions that he could be released if the Rams take Trent Richardson at No. 6 overall.
A release seems unlikely because the Rams aren't hurting for cap space. And we consider it unlikely that the Rams will be able to land Richardson anyhow; the Cleveland Browns or Tampa Bay Buccaneers should snap him up before he gets that far.
Fisher also dismissed the Rams' interest in the Alabama running back.
"We talk about the potential ways of improving the roster, but his name has not been floated out there," Fisher said. "I don't know where it is coming from."
This series of stories is a reminder, however, that this could be Jackson's last season in St. Louis. Time waits for no running backs, and it's difficult to justify paying Jackson a huge salary unless he remains a top-10 back in the league. Jackson remains a good starter, but he's no longer a big playmaker.
