Things are starting to get ugly between Michael Sam and the team that drafted him in 2014.
The tension started on Wednesday when Howard Balzer of 590 the Fan in St. Louis reported that the Rams only drafted Sam to get out of doing HBO's Hard Knocks.
According to Balzer, the league didn't want to deal with the potential fallout that might've come if the first openly gay player ever to enter the NFL Draft didn't get drafted, so they made a deal with the Rams: draft Sam, and we won't ask you to appear on Hard Knocks.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher blasted the report on Thursday during an appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike.
"That in itself is absolutely absurd, it's 100 percent incorrect," Fisher said. "I was really taken aback by those comments. It's insulting, from my standpoint, as it relates to Michael. We had three seventh-round picks. When we drafted Michael he was the best player on the board. Who in their right mind would think that you give up a draft choice to avoid doing something like that?"
It's kind of funny that Fisher would ask that question because Sam does seem to believe that there was some sort of inside deal between the NFL and the Rams.
"Not surprised that the NFL had a deal with the Rams," Sam told the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday.
Not only does Sam believe that the NFL and the Rams had a deal in place, but he also thinks he should've made the team in 2014.
"Makes sense as to why they cut me and not Ethan Westbrooks, even though I outperformed him in our production," Sam said. "Makes sense why Coach Fisher was very vague the day he cut me from the team."
The possible Hard Knocks deal between the Rams and the NFL might have affected Sam's chances of making the team. If Hard Knocks had been filming the Rams, Sam insists it would've been clear that he should've made the team and the viewing public would've realized that.
If you look at the numbers, it's not a complete shock the Rams chose Westbrooks over Sam for the team's final roster spot on the defensive line. Westbrooks led the team in tackles during the 2014 preseason with 12 and was second on the team in sacks with two. Sam finished with 11 tackles and led the team with three sacks.
Of course, that only takes the Rams' preseason games into consideration. It's very possible that Sam feels that he outperformed Westbrooks in practice, which is something that Hard Knocks camera would've likely caught.
Sam has now been out of football for two years, while Westbrooks is going into his third season with the Rams.
