T.J. McDonald Activated, Brady Quinn And Cortland Finnegan Placed On IR

Sep 26, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams strong safety T.J. McDonald (25) is carted off of the field with a leg injury during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome. The 49ers defeated the Rams 35-11. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite coming off of their bye this week, the St. Louis Rams have made plenty of buzz, starting with Sam Bradford undergoing knee surgery on Monday afternoon. Today, with less than 24 hours before kickoff against the Chicago Bears, the Rams made a handful “surprising” announcements regarding the roster.

Rams activate rookie safety T.J. McDonald from injured reserve/designated for return list. Corner Corland Finnegan (eye) placed on IR.
— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) November 23, 2013

Obviously, with the new “designed to return” slot in the new CBA, the Rams had planned on T.J. McDonald returning to the lineup at some point during the season. Last year, Scott Wells was given that same designation prior to returning in Week 12 of the regular season following foot surgery. Given the severity of McDonald’s injury, it is difficult to speculate whether or not he will get the “start” tomorrow for the St. Louis Rams. However, ESPN.com and former St. Louis Rams writer, Nick Wagoner, did shed some light on the situation:

Has been some confusion on whether T.J. McDonald could return this week. Rams release and moves indicate that he can play against Bears.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) November 23, 2013

Wagoner also stated, in an earlier Twitter response (that was later deleted) to a fan inquiry about McDonald starting on Sunday against the Bears, “Don’t know that for a fact but my expectation is that he will.” All signs appear to be pointing towards McDonald seeing some time on the field this weekend, which would be remarkable given that he sustained a leg fractured a mere eight weeks ago.

The more surprising news may be the placement of Cortland Finnegan and Brady Quinn on IR. The signing of Quinn, from the start, was a head-scratcher to some. However, with Kellen Clemens’ relative success since taking over for Bradford, Quinn was likely looking at being the backup-to-the-backup, at best, trailing both Clemens and Austin Davis on the quarterback depth chart.

Finnegan, on the other hand, had been mysteriously absent from the secondary since being “pulled” against the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 4. At the time, the Rams announced that their $50 million cornerback has sustained a hamstring injury, which kept him off the field from Week 5 through Week 7. However, some speculated that Finnegan had received an “honorable benching,” similar to what happened with Steven Jackson in the early part of the 2012 season. Now, with the former-Titan on the injury reserve, more questions will undoubtedly begin to rise about his place on the St. Louis Rams in the future.

To fill the defensive back void, Quinton Pointer was activated from the practice squad. However, with Finnegan currently ranked 107th out of 107 qualifying cornerbacks, it shouldn’t take much to make up for his contributions on the field.

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