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          NFL Nation

          Morning Ram-blings: Progress in Carson?

          • Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterApr 17, 2015, 08:00 AM ET
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              Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
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          EARTH CITY, Mo. -- As attempts to get financing lined up in St. Louis took a bit of a turn last week with lawsuits being filed in an effort to expedite the process, there's work going on in Los Angeles as well.

          But this time, it has nothing to do with the Inglewood project. The proposed Carson project, which purports to be the possible future home of the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, has received enough signatures to qualify to land on a ballot sooner than later.

          The proposal will now go to the city council, which is expected to move as soon as Tuesday to either schedule a local election or skip that and consider the plan without sending it to voters.

          As you might recall, a similar process took place in Inglewood and the plan was pushed through without a vote. It stands to reason the same will happen in this instance.

          Should that happen, one could argue that Carson has made up some ground to get closer to the Inglewood project. But there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about the Carson project before it would be shovel ready. Inglewood seems to have more momentum and, from talking to various owners in Phoenix last month, it also seems to have more support as a potential NFL "world" type of destination that the league apparently covets.

          I.C.Y.M.I.

          A roundup of Thursday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com: In the Ram-blings, we examined a trade proposed from Mark Dominik involving the Rams and Chiefs. ... Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins made some waves with his thoughts on the Aaron Hernandez verdict. ... Our 10 for 10 series took a look at Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes. ... And finally, on a day when the Rams worked out Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, we looked at some numbers and how he might transition to the Rams if they somehow landed him.

          Elsewhere:

          The always insightful Kevin Seifert offers an interesting look at ways to improve NFL scheduling.

          Great read from Mike Sando on why Mariota isn't just a "system" quarterback.

          Mel Kiper Jr. provides the three picks he would make for each team in the upcoming draft.

          At 101sports.com, D'Marco Farr weighs the merits of Mariota vs. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston.

          At stltoday.com, Jim Thomas profiles Rob Boras, who was promoted earlier this offseason.