Tye

Hill

Hill missed St. Louis’ first few training camp workouts but should get a chance to start in the near future. Travis Fisher and Fakhir Brown were the Rams’ first-team corners as they opened camp.

As long as he doesn’t get near his teammates. “I feel pretty good,” Hill said Friday. “It’s clearing up; it’s almost gone.” Hill should be St. Louis’ No. 1 corner this year. Most likely, veteran Fakhir Brown will play opposite him.

Hill did some work in practice last week and should return to full workouts before a matchup with Baltimore. With Corey Chavous still sidelined with a strained pecs muscle, the Rams will use O.J. Atogwe at strong safety and Ronald Bartell at free safety, which helps Atogwe’s short-term IDP value.

Bartell, who is listed as a safety on the Rams’ team website, is a DB with great size and speed. If the Howard product and former second-round pick plays well in Weeks 1-4, he probably won’t relinquish the job back to Brown.

Butler was a decent starter for St. Louis in 2003-2004, but he tore his ACL in 2005 and hasn’t been the same since. With youngsters Tye Hill and Ronald Bartell ready to play, it didn’t make sense to pay Butler $2 million this season.

St. Louis is now down both its starting corners (Fakhir Brown is suspended the first four games). An average to below average pass defense now looks awful on paper. Ronald Bartell and burnable vet Lenny Walls will likely play outside in Week 2 vs. the 49ers, with rookie Jonathan Wade at nickel back.

Coach Scott Linehan had better hope the report isn’t true because the depth he has behind Hill is poor. The Rams say Hill’s status is week to week.

Hill was found to have broken ribs, in addition to the broken bones in his back, upon further inspection. Lenny Walls, the tallest cornerback in the NFL and one of the league’s most burnable, will move into the starting lineup.

The 2006 first-round pick is being treated with antibiotics and is expected to be ready for training camp. Hill should be St. Louis’ top corner this year.

“I think he’s ready to take his game to a new level,” coach Scott Linehan says. “He’s going to be getting a lot of one-on-one matchups...and we think he feels pretty confident in that role.” Hill, a 5-9 speedster, could have trouble against the likes of Larry Fitzgerald (6-3/226) and D.J. Hackett (6-2/200).