The Rams will be without 24-year old cornerback Jerome Murphy for up to the next 10 weeks after he broke his ankle in Friday’s practice.  Murphy played in 14 games as a rookie for the Rams last year and he had 30 tackles, 1 interception, 3 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 tackle for a loss.  This is going to hurt the depth of the Rams’ secondary as Murphy was likely to improve in his second year with the team.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2011) – The Rams have placed Murphy on the Injured Reserve List, ending his 2011 season before it even started.

The Rams have placed 24-year old fullback Brit Miller on Injured Reserve ending his season due to a torn ACL.  Miller played in 9 games for the Rams and he didn’t touch the ball.  But, he did make 9 tackles on special teams and that is where he is going to be missed the most.  The Rams should be able to get by o.k. without Miller the rest of the season.

The Rams have lost starting outside linebacker Na’il Diggs for the rest of the season due to a torn right pectoral muscle.  Diggs played in 12 games for the Rams this year and he had 36 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  The Rams are going to miss Diggs as they don’t have a lot of quality depth at outside linebacker.

The Rams have lost 22-year old TE Mike Hoomanawanui for the next 4-6 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  He has played in 7 games so far this year for the Rams and he has caught 13 passes for 146 yards (11.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Rams will need 27-year old Daniel Fells and 28-year old Billy Bajema to step up with Hoomanawanui out of action.  Fells has played in 11 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 25 catches for 233 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Bajema has played in 8 games for the Rams this year and he has 11 catches for 106 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  I think that Fells & Bajema are going to step up for the Rams the next few weeks.

The Rams have placed 24-year old rookie TE Fendi Onobun on the Injured Reserve List as his season is now over due to a bulging disc in his lower back.  Onobun played in 3 games for the Rams this year and he caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  The Rams hope that he’ll be ready to go in 2011.

The Rams will be without 22-year old rookie WR Danario Alexander for the next 2-4 weeks due to knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in one of his knees.  Alexander has played in 2 games for the Rams this year and he has caught 5 passes for 78 yards (15.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  This is going to hurt the Rams a little bit as Alexander has really played well the last couple of weeks for them.

The Rams have placed 26-year old DT Clifton Ryan on the Injured Reserve List with recurring migraines.  Ryan played in 1 game for the Rams this year and he didn’t register any tackles.  Ryan has now played in 49 games in his four years with the Rams and he has 103 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  This will hurt the interior depth of the D-Line.

The Rams have placed backup TE Darcy Johnson on the Injured Reserve List with concussion problems.  He played in 4 games for the Rams this year and he didn’t make any catches.  With Billy Bajema and Michael Hoomanawanui are both returning from injuries and the Rams needed Johnson’s roster spot which led them to place him on I.R. ending his year.  Bajema played in 2 games for the Rams earlier this year and he caught 4 passes for 31 yards (7.8 avg).  Rookie Michael Hoomanawanui has played in 1 game earlier this year for the Rams and he has 1 catch for 8 yards.

The Rams have lost 28-year old WR Mark Clayton for the rest of the season due to a torn patella tendon in his right knee.  This is a huge blow to the Rams and QB Sam Bradford as he has targeted Clayton 42 times this year through the first five games.  Clayton’s season ends with 23 catches for 306 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 1 time for 6 yards.  Laurent Robinson (5 rec, 33 yards, TD), Brandon Gibson (8 rec, 117 yards, TD) and Mardy Gilyard (5 rec, 42 yards) will have to step up due to the loss of Clayton.  This will definitely hurt the Rams as Clayton was by far the best receiver on the team so far this year.

The Rams have lost 23-year old undrafted rookie WR Dominique Curry for the year due to a torn ACL.  He was injured in the win over the Redskins last Sunday.  Curry played in 2 games this year for the Rams and he had 2 tackles.  Curry will be missed on special teams as he showed some potential there.