Second-round pick Bartell signs contract, joins camp

ST. LOUIS -- Second-round pick Ron Bartell said missing the first day of St. Louis Rams training camp was not about squeezing extra dollars out of the team.

He was on the field Friday after signing a four-year, $1.79 million contract that includes a $1.49 million bonus.

"When you're growing up, you're not even thinking about the money, you just go out and play," Bartell said Friday. "I started playing street football, so it was never about the money and it's not going to be about the money now."

Still, he's enjoying the spoils. He has purchased a Hummer.

Bartell, the 50th overall pick of the draft, said missing even one day of training camp was too much for him. Last week, he participated in pre-training camp conditioning with other rookies.

"I was up the past two nights, couldn't get any sleep," Bartell said. "I've been real anxious just to get to work, to get the business part out of the way and do what I do. I love to play football."

First string

Another rookie, fourth-round pick Jerome Carter, is beginning life in the NFL on top. Martz has put him at the top of the depth chart at strong safety.

"I think for a rookie to come in and absorb and get lined up under pressure and do things right is substantial," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "We kind of had a pretty good idea of what his presence would be out there, we just had to verify it in camp.

"He's really been mistake-free for a rookie at this point."

Carter isn't getting carried away with his early status. He noted that he's far from mastered the playbook.

"I try to do a lot of studying," he said. "To be honest, a lot of the stuff still is floating around in my head and I'm not on top of my game like I need to be.

"Then again, it ain't time for the first game yet."

Two unsigned

Two of the Rams' top three picks, first-rounder Alex Barron and third-round Richie Incognito, remained unsigned.