St. Louis Rams Claim Wide Receiver Titus Young off Waivers

After being released by the Detroit Lions, talented but troubled wide receiver Titus Young was claimed off of waivers by the St. Louis Rams. 

CBS Sports' NFL insider Jason La Canfora tweeted the news: 

This move is not overly shocking. For starters, the Rams could use some help at receiver any way they can get it. 

Quarterback Sam Bradford has been saddled with subpar talent on the outside. Last season, Chris Givens led the Rams in receiving yards with just 698.

Danny Amendola pulled in 666 receiving yards, and he showed excellent chemistry with Bradford, but the 27-year-old can't stay healthy. He played in 11 games last year, and that followed a season where he was only able to play in one game. 

St. Louis also has Brandon Gibson and Young's Boise State teammate Austin Pettis in their receiving corp.

Young's talent and skill set were too tantalizing for head coach Jeff Fisher and the Rams organization to ignore. 

In two NFL seasons, the 5'11" wideout has hauled in 81 catches for 990 yards and 10 touchdowns. 

However, it is not production concerns that found him on the waiver wire in the first place. After appearing in just 10 games last season, Young finished the year on IR. The listed reason is tendinitis in his knee, but it is pretty clear that his attitude was the real problem. 

Young was not working out with the Lions. It started in last season's OTAs when he was sent home from practice after sucker-punching a teammate. 

Then in a Nov. 18 contest against the Packers, Young was caught in a screaming match with receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. Again, Young was sent home from the team.

He returned, only to be sent home again. At that point, the writing was on the wall. Young added bold letters and neon flare to that writing when he recently took to Twitter to encourage the Lions to cut him. 

So, he got his wish, and now he gets a fresh start with a team with which he should have ample chances to make a contribution. He also has a head coach in Jeff Fisher who has just about seen it all during his long career. 

By claiming Young off waivers, the Rams have to assume Young's contract, which is modest; he has just two years on that deal that are worth around $1.2 million. 

There is not a lot of risk in this move for the Rams, but there is a high ceiling.