By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

Growing up in St. Louis, Brandon Williams often dreamed of what it would be like to follow in the footsteps of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

After going away to school at the University of Wisconsin and spending his rookie season and part of this season with San Francisco, Williams is now getting a chance to live his dream.

“It’s always a dream come true to come home and play in your hometown and be with your friends and family,” Williams said. “It’s always good. I haven’t been here in six years so it’s cool.”

Williams attended perennial St. Louis high school power Hazelwood East where he made his reputation as a speedy play maker and earned a scholarship to play for the Badgers. Williams finished his college career as a four-year starter and set school records in receiving yards (2,924) and receptions (202).

That performance was good enough to get Williams drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the 2006 draft. The Rams had interest in Williams in that draft as they searched for a returner/receiver. When Williams went off the board, the team waited for the fifth round to take Hagans.

Williams got off to a poor start this season, though, as he muffed a punt against the Rams in the second week and has showed a propensity for turning the ball over. Despite those issues, the Rams showed no hesitation in grabbing him when injuries struck the receiving corps. 

“I think people around here are familiar with Brandon know what kind of career he had,” coach Scott Linehan said. “With the likelihood that Dante (Hall) is going to be missing some time for us, we wanted to back ourselves up with another returner. He’s an excellent receiver too. He has a year under his belt at San Francisco. He was their primary returner by the end of the season. He’s a good combination of a returner and also a receiver.”

Likewise, Williams showed no hesitation in choosing the Rams. Williams said about five or six teams contacted him, but it was an easy choice when the hometown team made an offer.

“It was a no brainer, it was an opportunity here,” Williams said. “I feel like they will give me the opportunity to do what I can do and I appreciate the opportunity as well.”

As Hall recovers from a sprained left ankle and Bruce (hamstring) and Dane Looker (thigh) continue to rehabilitate their injuries, the need for another receiver was obvious. As it stands, the Rams have just Holt, Drew Bennett and Marques Hagans available as receivers.

Hagans will handle the returning duties in Hall’s place, but Williams will be active and available for Sunday’s game against Baltimore. He will backup Hagans at the returning positions and could play some receiver though it’s more likely the Rams will use tight ends in the slot in multiple receiver packages.

The Rams could have called up one of their practice squad receivers, Dominique Thompson or Derek Stanley, but Linehan said Williams’ experience made him the right fit.

“They were definitely considered but with Brandon’s return background and experience as a returner not only in the NFL last year and the first part of this season but throughout his college career,” Linehan said. “It gives us a guy we can turn to if we end up needing to go with another returner than Marques. It is relatively early to assess how long Dante  is going to be out but we have to make preparations that if he is going to be out for quite a while, we have to have a proven returner in the mix.”

WALLS OUT: To make room for the return of defensive tackle Claude Wroten from his four-game suspension, the Rams released cornerback Lenny Walls on Friday.

With the return of cornerback Tye Hill to the lineup, a cornerback became expendable. That made the Rams choose between Darius Vinnett and Walls. While Walls is the veteran and has the experience, Vinnett has proved solid on special teams and Walls has been a liability in coverage.

The Rams did not have to make a roster move until today because they were granted an exemption by the league for Wroten’s return this week.

“It’s a tough decision,” Linehan said. “I really like Lenny. I think he brings a lot as far as a veteran that has played in this league. It’s just based on where he was going to be on the roster and how much of an impact he would have on special teams. He’s not on a lot of those and we had to go another direction.

CHAVOUS CLOSER?: Safety Corey Chavous looked better in Friday’s practice and shed the red no contact jersey for the workout.

Chavous is still recovering from a pectoral injury, but it appears he has at least a chance to play against the Ravens on Sunday.

Chavous had no problems during Friday’s workout and could be available Sunday.

“It will be a game day decision on Corey, but it’s likely he will probably be available for next week’s game,” Linehan said.

It’s still likely that Todd Johnson will start at strong safety, but Chavous might be up to back him up in an emergency.

INJURY REPORT: There were no serious changes to the injury report Friday. Linehan officially declared Bruce out for this week, as he joins Hall, Looker, Raonall Smith and Steven Jackson as guys who will be inactive for certain.

Cornerback Tye Hill will be active as he made it through the practice week with no issues. Ron Bartell will start opposite Fakhir Brown, but Hill will play in sub packages and should be available if Bartell has to move back to safety.

RAM BITS: Gene Upshaw, the Director of the NFL Players Association, was in town Friday for his annual meeting with the players. That meeting goes over basic tenets of the collective bargaining agreement and gives players an opportunity to ask questions…Linehan knows Baltimore coach Brian Billick on a limited basis, but the two have similar offensive terminology from their time in Minnesota. Billick’s offensive concepts were kept in place when Linehan came in as offensive coordinator so Billick and Linehan run a lot of similar things offensively…Linebacker Will Witherspoon was fined for his hit on Matt Leinart in last week’s game. There was no real explanation as to what the reason for the fine was, but Linehan said he thought the hit looked clean on film.