Even above the din of construction work going on around him, John Burrough could still recognize a familiar voice on his cell phone, immediately connecting the foghorn bellow to St. Louis Rams defensive line coach Bill Kollar.

	Burrough

For the first four seasons of his NFL career, Burrough grew accustomed to Kollar's bite. Now he's going to have to re-acclimate himself to the constant verbal barrage.

After a season out of the league, largely spent rehabilitating from ankle surgery and also working as a homebuilder, Burrough has signed with the Rams as a free agent. Although he has not played in a game since the end of the 2000 campaign, the six-year veteran will add depth and experience to a St. Louis end corps that has been thinned.

Burrough, 29, is spending the weekend re-adjusting to the speed of the game. If his ankle is as stable as he claims it to be, he could earn a spot in the Rams defensive front rotation, likely replacing Sean Moran, who departed to San Francisco in free agency.

"It's coming back," said Burrough, who entered the league as a seventh-round choice of the Atlanta Falcons in the 1995 draft. "You don't lose your feel for the game, even after a year off, but you have to get accustomed to the speed again. Physically, I feel fine. But I know I'm playing catch-up right now."

The former Wyoming standout is viewed as a solid backup, a blue-collar veteran with a huge motor, and a lineman who is a good anchor against the run. The fact Kollar knows him well should aid Burrough, who is believed to have signed a one-year contract for the league minimum $650,000 base salary, in his comeback.

After his Atlanta stint, Burrough signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1999, and he played two seasons for the Vikings until ankle surgery after the 2000 season put him on the shelf. He had some interest from teams last spring, including a visit with the Rams, but needed more time to rehabilitate the ankle. As Burrough worked building his home this spring, his agent apprised teams he was ready to play again.

Burrough has appeared in 88 games and started 14 of them. He has 94 tackles, 4½ sacks, one forced fumble and three pass deflections for his career.

In a related matter, Rams defensive tackle Damione Lewis, the team's top pick in the '01 draft, will have a second surgery to repair the broken left foot sustained last November. In this procedure, surgeons will graft a bone from his ankle into his foot, to replace a bone that has not yet healed.

The former University of Miami star is expected to be sidelined 6-8 weeks.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.