According to NFL.com, the Rams, who own the second pick in Saturday’s draft, have apparently bought a plane ticket for quarterback Mark Sanchez to travel to St. Louis on Sunday.

One thing that could be legit or be a ploy (it is interesting, if nothing else): The Rams, who hold the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, have purchased a plane ticket for USC QB Mark Sanchez to fly from Los Angeles to St. Louis on Sunday, when the team plans to introduce its top selection.

While the Rams have bought a ticket (hopefully, it’s refundable), they might not select Sanchez.
The thinking emanating from a lot of folks around here is that St. Louis will select Baylor OT Jason Smith. The Rams need to find a left tackle to replace veteran Orlando Pace, who was released in a cost-cutting move.

The Rams could be trying to generate some trade interest in keeping Sanchez’s name out there, but for a team that has won just five games in two seasons, drafting wisely would be prudent, to say the least.

Nonetheless, the plane ticket for Sanchez is intriguing.

As the article suggests, is this just part of the Rams’ master scheme to try and garner trade interest in the No. 2 pick or are they seriously planning on drafting Sanchez? They did seek, and were granted, permission by the NFL to negotiate a contract with a player if the Lions signed their prospect before the draft. Considering the Lions already have a deal in place with linebacker Aaron Curry and are working feverishly to sign Matthew Stafford, maybe St. Louis really does plan on selecting Sanchez. After all, Marc Bulger is on his last legs and it’s not like the Rams are developing a youngster behind him right now.

My question is, if they buy a plane ticket for Sanchez and don’t take him, are there any repercussions to that? I would have to assume that the Rams would have thought of that before buying the ticket, but it’ll be interesting to see if there is anything in league rules that says a team can’t do something like that before the draft.

What a bizarre story.