EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar was the closest thing the St. Louis Rams had to a "surprise" cut in the final round of roster moves at the end of the preseason.

With football suddenly removed from his life, Dunbar wasn't exactly sure what to do. But he knew exactly what he didn't want to do.

"I cannot watch football when I’m not playing," Dunbar said. "It’s almost heartbreaking. That’s something I couldn’t do. My friends are playing fantasy football and I’m looking at them like they're ridiculous. That was not fun."

On Tuesday, football officially returned to Dunbar's life as he re-signed with the Rams after linebacker Alec Ogletree had surgery to repair a fractured right fibula. It was a fairly obvious move given that Dunbar spent the previous three seasons in St. Louis and is more familiar with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' scheme than any player on the Rams' roster.

In fact, the pending addition of Dunbar was so obvious, teammate Chris Long pretty much had it pegged only hours after Ogletree suffered the injury against Arizona.

According to Dunbar, Long texted him about 1 a.m. Monday morning and asked what was going on.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and showed the text to my girlfriend and I told him 'Yeah, I’ll be there in the morning, buddy,'" Dunbar said. "It was actually funny. He called me and he was a little rowdy, but it was great."

Indeed, Dunbar was on a plane to St. Louis soon after and the Rams made the move official after putting him through the usual physical. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Dunbar returned in good shape and is ready to pick up where he left off.

"He knows the defense, that’s why we brought him back," Fisher said. "He stayed in shape, came back and it’s like he’s never left. He has a good feel for what we’re doing."

By Tuesday afternoon, Dunbar was already in film room breaking down tape of the Green Bay Packers with his fellow linebackers. It was the first time he'd watched football of any kind all year. After his release, Dunbar vowed he wouldn't watch games, and other than checking in on his alma mater Boston College, he kept his word.

"I didn’t watch SportsCenter," Dunbar said. "I really didn’t watch anything. Anything that had to do with football, turn the channel. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it. College football, didn’t do it. Nothing."

Of course, it's not like Dunbar was cryogenically frozen, so he was able to keep tabs on his former teammates. He's close with Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis and said he would text with them every week or so. Dunbar was one of the first to congratulate Laurinaitis when he set the franchise record for tackles.

When he wasn't working out at a gym in Miami, Dunbar tried to create unique ways to spend his time.

"I have got a couple business ventures at home," Dunbar said. "Hanging out with the little girl. Hanging out with friends and family. Sundays I slept in, went to the pool, tried to fill that time with anything to be honest with you."

Now that he's back, Dunbar said it's like he never left. He got his old jersey number (58) back, he set up shop in his same locker and his teammates and coaches remain the same. The practice schedule is slightly different, but otherwise Dunbar feels in some ways like he never left.

"It’s a little hard to know I left," Dunbar said. "(But) it’s easy to come back in this locker room and fit in."

As for his role, Dunbar said the Rams haven't told him anything, but with Akeem Ayers moving to the weakside spot vacated by Ogletree, there is an opening on the strong side. Dunbar has experience playing all three linebacker positions in the Rams' base 4-3 defense, so he believes he's up to doing whatever is asked of him.

So long as it involves the game he missed for the past month-plus.

"It feels like being re-born I guess," Dunbar said. "I don’t know how to put it in words. It’s been nice to watch tape and break down tape today. I haven’t done that in awhile. It felt good today."