Michael Sam survives 1st round of roster cuts

The St. Louis Rams made four moves Tuesday to reach the mandated 75-man roster limit, none of which involved the release of defensive end Michael Sam.

Given his two-sack performance against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night, it's not surprising Sam survived the first round of roster cuts. It won't get any easier, though.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher emphasized Tuesday that while Sam has shown he can play on special teams, he will be judged solely on his defensive work.

"It's rare that you get a defensive end that's going to go out and contribute on all four of your core special teams," Fisher said, via ESPN.com. "So special teams is not part of the equation for Mike.

"We're giving him every opportunity to do so, and he's participated in special-teams practices and everything, but that's not going to be part of the criteria for the evaluations."

According to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, the Rams entered training camp with eight entrenched defensive linemen, and plan to keep between eight and 10 on the final roster. At this point, it appears to be between Sam and undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks for the ninth – and possibly final – roster spot.

Asked to assess how Sam is stacking up against Westbrooks, Fisher refused to give one the edge.

"I think they're both doing well right now," Fisher said. "No different than any other positional races on this football team. They're both doing well. You know me, I'm not going to say who's one or who's two."

The Rams have until Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT to trim their roster to 53 players.