Cornerback Bradley Fletcher worked hard to earn a spot in the Rams' lineup last year as a rookie. He worked even harder to get himself back in playing condition after suffering a serious knee injury.

When Fletcher went down Oct. 25 with two torn ligaments, it was feared he would need a year of rehab. That meant he almost certainly wouldn't be ready for the 2010 regular-season opener.

But on Friday, Fletcher was prancing around Rams Park as training camp got under way with two practices for rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans. He even participated in the 11-on-11 "team" drills.

"The knee's feeling good," the 6-foot, 198-pound Fletcher reported. "I was working out here five days a week with the training staff. They did a great job, I was able to do a full recovery, and now I'm back on the field."

So eager was Fletcher that the trainers had to rein him in at times.

"That's probably a good thing," Fletcher said. "From what I wanted to do and from what they were having me do, it all worked out."

Said coach Steve Spagnuolo: "There isn't a guy that worked any harder than Bradley did in this whole situation where he was rehabbing. He's been here the whole time, here in St. Louis. That's hard, too. Any young guy, he'd like to get home a little bit."

Fletcher, a third-round draft pick from Iowa, wrested the first-team job from Jonathan Wade in the fifth game last year. Fletcher was making just his third start when he was hurt breaking up a deep sideline pass from Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning intended for wide receiver Pierre Garcon.

Two operations were needed to repair the damage.

"It was unfortunate, but that's just how football goes sometimes," Fletcher said. "It was frustrating, not being able to be with the guys. But I'm with them now, so I'm happy about that."

He doesn't even mind that the Rams drafted two cornerbacks, South Florida's Jerome Murphy and Alabama's Marquis Johnson, this past April.

"That's good; competition's good for any position," Fletcher said. "That's what we're going to have, and it's going to drive everybody to play better football."

licensed to drive

Murphy was sporting a new number on his jersey Thursday. He also had a new drivers license in his wallet.

Murphy, who switched to No. 23 from No. 26, was arrested July 24 in Florida on a misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license. He said that he since has renewed his license and that the issue has been resolved.

"Everything is cool," Murphy said. "They took it off my record."

lineman is probably out

The Rams will need to clear a spot on the 80-man roster when quarterback Sam Bradford signs his contract. Offensive lineman Mark Setterstrom is the probable victim.

Setterstrom suffered a torn left triceps muscle last month during organized team activities and underwent surgery. Spagnuolo said Thursday that Setterstrom could be done for the season.

"Mark is going to probably be on (injured reserve); that's the decision we ended up making," Spagnuolo said. "I don't know when that will happen. But I would venture to guess we would go that way."

Setterstrom, a seventh-round draftee in 2006, has been struck down by a succession of ailments. He also suffered a left triceps injury in the next-to-last game of the 2009 campaign and needed surgery. He missed all but three regular-season games in the 2007 and '08 seasons with knee injuries.

RAM-BLINGS

Second-year pro Eric Butler has been moved to fullback from tight end.