Rams’ 2010 Fourth-Round Draft Pick Already Demanding a Trade?

Former St. Louis Rams assistant head coach — now a radio personality in St. Louis — Rick Venturi is reporting the Rams have received a rather odd trade demand.

Mardy Gilyard, the former Cincinnati Bearcat and 2010 fourth-round draft pick, is trying to become a former Ram as he has apparently demanded a trade after seeing very limited action in his rookie season.

“Rookie sensation Ram receiver Mardy Gilyard, who didn’t show up the other day for the players minicamp … It’s rumored that he asked for a trade,” Venturi said. “Are you kidding me? Nobody knows who the hell he is. What would you give up for him? An old, used kicking ball? And a ticket to a fourth-quarter preseason game in the NFL?

“Mardy Gilyard, you gotta be kidding me.”

Gilyard received some attention for the numbers he was able to put up at Cincinnati (204 receptions for 3,003 yards and 25 touchdowns) in only three years as a receiver after starting his college career as a cornerback, but that only translated into a fourth-round pick because of character concerns, and it’s looking like those concerns were well-founded.

Gilyard was unable to get on the field — even with the receiver-desperate Rams — and wound up with only six catches for 63 yards during his rookie campaign. It could mean the Rams aren’t overly interested in keeping him, but what makes him think there’s a team in the league that would be willing to give up anything for him?

Sure, the raw potential is obviously there, but it was there in JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Lawrence Phillips, Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis, Courtney Brown, and the probably hundreds of players drafted over the years with a ton of talent that NFL observers would never see thanks to character flaws.

If this rumor is true, it would be surprising to see Gilyard on the Rams’ roster next season as head coach Steve Spagnuolo would likely hand Gilyard his pink-slip before he deals with another kid with an undeserved ego and sense of entitlement.

What would be even more surprising would be to see Gilyard on any one of the other 31 active rosters.