Thompson released by St. Louis

Former Penn standout cornerback Duvol Thompson was released by the St. Louis Rams on Tuesday.

Thompson and 24 of his teammates were casualties of the organization's first major team cut, shrinking the roster from 90 men to 65.

However, the Rams' decision to let Thompson go was not a result of a lack of performance on his part.

Thompson joined a St. Louis secondary that has nine other players, including three other rookies, cornerback Ronald Bartell of Howard, and safeties Oshiomogho Atogwe from Stanford and Jerome Carter from Florida State.

The 10-man secondary is a relatively low number for NFL teams to have going into mini-camps, and Thompson was mindful of that.

By all accounts, Thompson hit the ground in St. Louis running. He survived mini-camp and came off the bench to make two tackles in the team's Aug. 12 preseason opener against the Chicago Bears.

Going into the fourth and final quarter of the game, Thompson was playing well and beginning to establish himself at the next level.

But then things took a turn for the worse.

"I broke a part of my hand breaking up a touchdown pass in the end zone," Thompson said.

This fracture to a bone in his wrist meant that he couldn't play in the team's subsequent pre-season game against the San Diego Chargers nine days later as they fell 36-21.

Thompson was also unavailable for the team's third game against on Aug. 29, when it routed Detroit 37-13.

Left out of official pre-season games and only able to participate in practice at a low-contact capacity, Thompson knew he was in a precarious position on cut day.

"Not being able to play in the other preseason games was hard because you want to continue to prove yourself and show what you can do," Thompson said.

"This could have been the reason that I didn't make the team right away or the decision may have been made long before my injury so who knows."

Thompson's hope is that he will be called back in by the Rams on soon to play on their practice squad, a position that will pay $70,000 should he maintain it for the entire season.

In addition, while on the practice squad Thompson will be eligible to both be moved up to the Rams full squad or be picked up by any other NFL team and signed to their official roster.

While the financial perks are many and the exposure could be great, Thompson explains that a spot on the Rams' practice squad would afford him another, and perhaps more important opportunity: the chance to improve.

"This year's Rams team is one of the deepest teams in the league," Thompson said. "Playing on the practice squad here would allow me to go up against one of the best receiving corps in the NFL."

Should Thompson not be re-called for the practice squad, he says that he doesn't plan on giving up on football.

"If I don't make it I'll definitely go home and continue to train," Thompson said. "No player's spot in this league is totally secure so you just have to be prepared for anything to happen."

That said, Thompson is confident that he has made an impression on St. Louis' coaching staff and could get a chance to come back and develop in that exciting environment.

"I have had a really positive experience here at training camp and I think the coaching staff has seen something in me that they would like to develop."

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