Deuce McAllister interested in Rams. Should Rams be interested in Deuce?

Former New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister recently said on WXOS that he has interest in joining the Rams to back up Steven Jackson for the upcoming 2009 season.  It is nice that a former All-Pro running back has interest in joining the Rams but should the Rams have interest in McAllister coming to St. Louis?  Here are some of the pros and cons....

REASONS WHY IT MAKES SENSE: McAllister is an accomplished back who clearly knows his role at this point in his career.  He graciously stepped aside when the Saints drafted Reggie Bush and turned it into a positive situation having a "thunder and lightning" approach.  He is known for being a short yardage and nose for the endzone sort of running back now.  Although there is no question that McAllister is used goods there still is some mileage left.

As far as why it makes some sense for the Rams, the Rams are not exactly stocked at the backup running back position.  Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby are the incumbents to be the main backup to Steven Jackson.  The Rams also drafted Chris Ogbonnaya in the seventh round out of Texas.  All of the players mentioned are not considered stellar backup options at this point.  When you add into the equation that Steven Jackson missed 4 games in 2007 and 4 games in 2008 it makes sense that the Rams probably need to upgrade their backup running back spot.

REASONS WHY IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE:  There are a number of very good reasons not to sign McAllister.  First and foremost is that McAllister has now had four knee surgeries in the past four seasons.  He is currently in rehab and says he will be ready by the opening of NFL training camps but there has been a lot of damage to those legs.  As well, McAllister will not be available to any NFL team on opening weekend because he is going to have to serve a four game suspension because he tested positive on a steroids test.  Signing McAllister and not being able to use him for the first quarter of the season doesn't seem like something that the Rams would be interested in. 

On top of the steroids test, McAllister recently settled a court case with a New Orleans nightclub in which he was involved in a dustup.  McAllister is also involved in a bankruptcy case against Nissan with his car dealership.  It seems to me that there is a lot swirling around McAllister that doesn't fit with the "four pillars" philosophy that has been implemented by Steve Spagnuolo.

The Rams should be in the market to improve their backup running back situation.  There are a few names out there like Warrick Dunn, Rudi Johnson, and Chris Perry that make some sense.  But much like the wide receiver situation that I have written about in the past, the Rams appear to be in no hurry to bring in anyone that costs a lot of money or is on the other side of 28 years old.  I believe the Rams have some comfort with Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby being able to handle the backup duties but I do think we might see a signing of another running back before the Rams hit the field in late July.  Just don't expect it to be Deuce McAllister.