St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson missed practice Wednesday

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson missed practice Wednesday, according to Kathleen Nelson of STLToday.com.

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson (39) throws his arms up after the referees ruled no touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

As Nelson pointed out, Jackson’s absence occurred on the first day of preparation for the Ram’s game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Jackson, who suffered a groin strain Sunday, is day-to-day, said head coach Jeff Fisher earlier this week. The running back suffered the injury against the Washington Redskins last Sunday and was unable to finish the game.

If Jackson is unable to play, running backs Terrance Ganaway and Daryl Richardson are the likely candidates to pick up Jackson’s workload. Ganaway and rookie running back Isaiah Pead did not contribute to the rushing game last weekend, but both of them could get their number called against the Bears. Richardson, however, was able to help the team by adding 83 rushing yards on 15 carries in relief for Jackson.

Jackson averaged 6.4 yards per carry before being injured against the Redskins. The Rams will brutally miss his ability to create shorter second and third downs for quarterback Sam Bradford should he be unable to play.

As a team, against the Redskins, the St. Louis Rams rushed for 5.6 yards per carry.

Practice squad addition

St. Louis Rams beat writer Jim Thomas tweeted out Wednesday afternoon that the team added center Chase Beeler to its practice squad. Beeler is a first-year player from Stanford and comes from the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice roster. Last season, Beeler spent time on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad; therefore, he is already familiar with the NFC West division.

Injuries continue to hamper the Rams

Along with starting running back Jackson, fullback Brit Miller, offensive tackles Rodger Saffold and Wayne Hunter, defensive tackle Michael Brockers and safety Matt Daniels all missed practice Wednesday, Thomas added via his Twitter account. If Hunter is unable to play, Thomas believes the St. Louis Rams will use former Arena Football League linemen Ty Nsekhe at left tackle against the Bears Sunday.

Defensive tackle Matt Conrath was able to participate in a limited capacity at practice, mainly individual work on the sidelines.