The Sports Xchange

EARTH CITY — In the season-opening win over Seattle, the Rams had no drops in the passing game. That wasn’t the case the last two weeks, especially one by tight end Lance Kendricks on what would have been a probable touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Fisher said, “Nick (Foles) made a lot of good throws, made a lot of good decisions. Nick pushed the ball down the field and gave the guys chances. The three drops were significant. That’s what we talked about last week. We had several last week. We had none in Week 1. We have to catch the ball when given the opportunity. Lance makes that catch, it’s who knows what happens.”

Asked how approaches Kendricks after a big drop like that happens, Foles said, “All I do is look at him in the eyes and say, ‘I’m coming back at you.’ I believe in him. He knows more than anyone, I’m going to keep throwing at him. I’m not going to shy away. Lance is an extremely talented player. I’m going to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. I’m about supporting my teammates and lifting them up. And Lance knows that. Lance comes back in the huddle ready to go. That’s part of the game. We’re not always going to be perfect.”

–The Rams waived running back Isaiah Pead Tuesday, ending a lackluster three-plus seasons with the team. A second-round pick in 2012, Pead never established himself as a consistent player and then missed all of 2014 because of a torn ACL suffered in the preseason.

He worked to come back this year, and had a solid training camp, but a fumble in the season opener against the Seahawks helped the Seahawks come back from a 24-13 deficit.

With rookie Todd Gurley now active and Trey Watts returning from a four-game suspension next week, there wasn’t room on the roster for Pead. He was replaced on the roster by cornerback Brandon McGee, who was signed from the practice squad.

Said Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, “Difficult decision. Isaiah did a phenomenal job coming back off the injury. But with Todd now coming up and the potential for some other moves, we just felt it was the best decision for us.

“So we just really appreciate him and hope that he’s gonna be available – we can turn to him if we need him (later). But we need to make some roster moves as we move forward.”

McGee was selected in the fifth round of the 2013 draft by the Rams, but has had a foot injury that has been an issue since last season, in which he played just two games after playing 15 his rookie year. This year, he aggravated the injury during OTAs and was never able to get on the field in training camp, was waived in the roster reduction to 53, and then signed to the practice squad.

Said Fisher, “When he came back to camp he wasn’t ready to go. It wasn’t quite right. So, we had to rest and immobilize it. He’s got it behind him now. The last couple of weeks on the practice squad he’s been able to push through it, so we felt like he was ready to go.”

As for what McGee can do to contribute, aside from depth at cornerback, Fisher said, “Just the things that he did for us on special teams prior to the injury. He’s up and we’re ready to go. He can do the gunner thing. He can be available for us on defense and then do some things in two of the three phases on special teams.”

Notes: Wide receiver Kenny Britt, who banged his left shoulder in Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, did not practice Wednesday. However, the injury is not expected to keep him out of the game against Arizona. … Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis did not practice Wednesday, but it reported as a coach’s decision and was not injury related. … Safety Maurice Alexander, who has been contributing on special teams, suffered a groin injury against Pittsburgh and did not practice Wednesday. … Running back Chase Reynolds and defensive end Eugene Sims, each remain out of practice because of a knee injury suffered in the season opener against Seattle and they are not expected to play against Arizona. … Wide receiver Brian Quick has been inactive for the first three games of the season, but had added practice reps with the first unit Wednesday with Kenny Britt not working because of a shoulder injury. It is still unknown whether Quick will see his first action of the season against Arizona. … Wide receiver Bradley Marquez, who made the roster as a rookie free agent, has been outstanding on special teams. He leads the team with six tackles, significantly ahead of rookie linebacker Bryce Hager, the only player with two tackles on special teams.