St. Louis Rams: News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon (Wednesday Edition)

Thank you for checking in for Wednesday's St. Louis Rams "News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon."  Quite a few headlines and tidbits today, so I will jump right into the brief updates.

As most of you probably know, the Rams formally introduced Les Snead as their new general manager yesterday.  For more on the hire, click here. 

According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis kick returner/wide receiver Nick Miller has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 NFL season: 

"@jthom1Jim Thomas Rams backup wr nick miller suspended 4 games by nfl for use of perfomance enhancing substances.
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Read this for much more on Miller's suspension.  

Before Miller, 2011 third-round rookie Austin Pettis was the most recent Rams player to be suspended for PEDs.  Pettis received his suspension in late December.  

In the bigger picture of the entire NFL, St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher has rejoined the NFL's Competition Committee, according to USA Today.  Fisher served as their co-chairman from 2002-2010.  The committee continuously reviews rules and recommends changes when they feel it is appropriate and/or necessary to do so.  

Former NFL executive Tony Softli has released his "big board" of NFL defensive free agents who could make an impact in 2012.  Softli writes in the article that these players "still have the passion for the game, skill set and attributes for their position and bring value to an NFL team this coming season."

Speaking of players hoping to make an impact next season, several sports columnists with the aforementioned St. Louis Post-Dispatch were asked if the Rams should consider acquiring either Randy Moss or Terrell Owens, two future Hall of Fame wideouts. Their responses were interesting.  

CBSSports.com senior NFL analyst Clark judge suggests that St. Louis should listen to offers for the No. 2 overall pick and accept the highest offer.  Judge suggests, at the very least, that the Rams will be offered two first-round picks and a second-round pick, plus additional lower-level compensation.  

In reference to the previously discussed No. 2 overall draft slot, Jeff Fisher told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently that: "What we do will define the future of this franchise moving forward."

It is obvious that Fisher and the Rams' brass understand the importance of making the best decision going forward, and I am confident that Fisher, Snead and Kevin Demoff (St. Louis Rams Vice President of Football Operations) will do just that. 

Jeff Gordon of the much-mentioned St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared a great piece about what we can learn about the state of NFL stadium negotiations by watching what is going on in Minnesota with the Vikings.  

Finally, yesterday's St. Louis Rams chat with the aforementioned Jim Thomas is loaded with great information, as found here.  

I would like to remind you that the second edition of my weekly weekend question-and-answer session on the Rams will be posted here on Saturday.  Please share your question in the comments section or follow me on Twitter below and post your questions in Twitter inbox. 

Have a great day, STL Rams nation. 

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.