Ladysmith native and former University of Wisconsin defensive lineman Mike Newkirk signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams Monday.

According to Newkirk's agent, he also recieved a free agent offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but chose the Rams instead. Several other NFL teams showed interest in Newkirk, along with the Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins.

Newkirk was not selected in last weekend's NFL Draft.

WEAU 13 Sports Director Bob Gallaher spoke with Newkirk on the phone Monday night, he told us that after not getting drafted over the weekend, he admits he had some doubts whether he would get the chance to prove himself in the NFL.
Mike Newkirk/Signs with St. Louis Rams: "I actually went to bed Sunday night and I didn't have any offers, I didn't have anything. I didn't know if this was the end of the road or what, you know what I mean. It was kind of a rough position to be in. Some times you have those doubts that start to slip in and things like that. You know I slept on it, woke up on Monday and the calls came in and the opportunity presented itself. I was more than happy and willing, jumped on it right away. I'm looking forward to reporting on Thursday. Again, it was a tough decision, it was one I had to make and it's one that you can't really spend time second-guessing or beat yourself up about it. You got to go with in, I'm a Ram now, I'm going to go out there and try to make the team and show them what I got."