The Rams have placed 23-year old starting LT Rodger Saffold on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a torn pectoral muscle.  He was injured in practice this week.  Saffold played in 9 games (all starts) for the Rams this year.  He has now played in 25 games (all starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  29-year old Mark LeVoir will take over as the starting LT for the Rams going forward.  He has played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Rams so far this year.  LeVoir has now played in 38 games (3 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  Sam Bradford is likely going to get hit pretty hard in the back a few more times a game without Saffold on the blind side.

The Rams have lost 36-year old CB Al Harris for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  Harris played in 9 games for the Rams this year and he had 15 tackles, 7 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  This might be the end of the line for Harris, and if it is, he has had a great career.  Harris has played in 194 games in his first 14 years in the NFL and he has 468 tackles, 21 interceptions (3 returned for a TD), 149 passes defensed, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 5 tackles for a loss.

The Rams have lost 23-year old TE Michael Hoomanawanui for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  He played in 8 games for the Rams this year and he caught 7 passes for 83 yards (11.9 avg).  He has now played in 16 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 20 passes for 229 yards (11.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  This is unlucky for both Hoomanawanui and the Rams as they are going to need someone to step up at TE.

The St. Louis Rams have lost 23-year old WR Greg Salas for the rest of the season due to a fractured left fibula.  Salas played in six games for the Rams as a rookie this year and he caught 27 passes for 264 yards (9.8 avg).  The Rams are going to give 23-year old rookie Austin Pettis the first shot to replace Salas in the slot.  Pettis has played in six games so far this year and he has caught 11 passes for 90 yards (8.2 avg).  The Rams hope Pettis is up to the challenge as Sam Bradford needs all of the help he can get.

The St. Louis Rams have waived 22-year old rookie LB Jabara Williams.  Williams played in 2 games for the Rams this year and he didn’t have any tackles.  Williams was a 7th round pick out of Stephen F. Austin, so the expectations weren’t that high for him.  The Rams won’t miss him at all as he didn’t do anything in the two games he did play in.

The Rams have signed 29-year old OT Mark LeVoir.  LeVoir played in 3 games (1 start) with the Ravens earlier this year.  He has now played in 35 games (3 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  The Rams needed help along the offensive line, so I like this pickup for them.

The Rams have released 26-year old WR Mike Sims-Walker.  Sims-Walker played in 4 games for the Rams this year and he caught 11 passes for 139 yards (12.6 avg) without a TD grab.  Rams’ QBs only completed 11 of 26 passes (42.3%) thrown in Sims-Walker’s direction, so things just weren’t working out with him.  The Rams won’t miss him at all with Brandon Lloyd coming aboard.

23-year old QB Sam Bradford has a high ankle sprain.  He is likely to miss this Sunday’s game against the Cowboys and maybe more.  He has played in all 5 games for the Rams so far this year and he has completed 103 of 195 passes (52.8%) for 1,170 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (72.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 9 times for 22 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this year.  34-year old A.J. Feeley is going to get all of the reps with the first team this week with the thought that he’s going to be the starting QB for at least a couple of weeks.  Feeley has played in 1 game for the Rams so far this year and he has completed 1 of 5 passes (20%) for 21 yards without a TD pass or interception (44.6 QB Rating).  Feeley is usually much better as a reliever in game, than a starting QB, so the Rams better hope Bradford gets healthy soon.

The Rams have acquired 30-year old WR Brandon Lloyd from the Broncos for a sixth round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  That upgrades to a 5th round pick if Lloyd catches at least 30 passes for the Rams in the last 11 games of the year.  Lloyd played in 4 games for the Broncos this year and he has caught 19 passes for 283 yards (14.9 avg) without a TD grab.  He has now played in 101 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 260 passes for 4,101 yards (15.8 avg) with 26 TD grabs.  Lloyd will immediately become the Rams’ #1 WR as he was offensive co-ordinator Josh McDaniels’ go-to man when they were together in Denver.

The St. Louis Rams have signed 24-year old cornerback Brian Jackson.  Jackson played in 12 games as a rookie for the Giants last year and he had 9 tackles.  Jackson will likely get a chance to earn some serious P.T. right away for the Rams if they shows them something as they are really hurting at cornerback right now due to injuries.  If nothing else, Jackson will give the Rams depth in the secondary while helping out on special teams.  I like this signing for them.

UPDATE:  (10/30/2011) – The Rams have placed Brian Jackson on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to an undisclosed injury.  Jackson played in 1 game for the Rams this year but he didn’t make any tackles.