St. Louis Rams Injury Update: Danny Amendola Back, Wayne Hunter Ailing

No, Danny Amendola will not be playing on Sunday… sorry Rams fans. However, according to Jim Thomas, Amendola was back and practicing with the team, albeit it on an extremely limited basis. Even last week, we had heard rumors that our all-star wide out would be shooting for a return after the bye week, and it appears that is still the plan of action.

Rodger Saffold was also back in limited action, after missed essentially the entire season with a combination of injuries. His latest, the knee, seems to healing nicely, as Saffold did get some running/conditioning in at practice today.

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The injuries to Haggan and Sims are not the biggest losses, especially since their was no mention of Hayes in the injury report. However, with Wayne Hunter out, the battle for the left tackle spot could turn very interesting. As it stands now, the depth chart for left tackle (if healthy) would likely be: Rodger Saffold, Wayne Hunter, Joe Barksdale, and then, newly acquired, Chris Williams. If Hunter and Saffold are both out this week, which is likely, would the Rams give a second start to Barksdale? Or, would they opt to try out their new toy, the one-time first rounder Williams? Who will get the start if and when all players are healthy after the bye? Only time will tell, but I guess having too many quality players on the offensive line cannot be a bad thing. Maybe the St. Louis Rams will ship one out (likely with a couple of draft picks) to, let’s say, Kansas City or Dallas for a Dez Bryant or Dwayne Bowe…

For the New England Patriots, it appears as if they had a handful of holdouts in Wednesday’s practice. According to ExtraPoint.com, CB Ras-I Dowling, S Steve Gregory, RB Brandon Bolden, LB Tracy White,  DE Trevor Scott, and, most importantly, LB Jerod Mayo were absent from practice. Mayo is the leader on the young and inexperienced Patriots defense, with him and Vince Wilfork being the key men in stopping the opposing running game. Brandon Bolden should also be a concern, especially given New England’s dependence on the run game to pull out wins.