Now, on to the more minor bumps. There were three players who did not participate in Friday’s practice. Greg Salas sat with a knee injury, Fendi Onobun was down with a groin issue and DT Jermelle Cudjo was out with back soreness. It doesn’t sound like any of these are overly serious, but I would suggest that all of these players need to be on the field as much as possible while they are fighting for spots. Fendi especially needs to play, because I still love his potential but he could be facing an uphill battle for a roster spot and he needs to shake that injury-prone label.

Fred Robbins left early today with a knee tweak, while David Vobora and Michael Hoomanawanui both suffered what’s being categorized as a concussion. Dominique Curry hurt his hand on Thursday, and he will undergo surgery to try an speed the recovery. This is bad news for Curry, because as much as the coaches seem to like him, he could very well get caught up in the numbers game at WR. Obviously, we have to see how his recovery goes, but an injury like this could open the door for a guy like Mardy Gilyard, who has been impressing so far. It’s far too early to speculate on who will and won’t make the team, but injuries always play a role in those decision.

I wish I had some better news for you all from minicamp, but unfortunately the biggest news to come out this weekend was injury-related. First, the update on Jason Smith is that he has a stress fracture in his toe. Smith is expected to miss the rest of the team’s OTAs, but he won’t need surgery.  Obviously this news isn’t good, but I guess it could have been worse. I’m really hoping this won’t be a lingering thing, but obviously you just never know with injuries. He is in a walking boot now, and hopefully he will be able to return for training camp.

The worst news to come out of camp was the injury offensive lineman Mark Setterstrom. Setterstrom reportedly suffered a torn triceps muscle, and he could be lost for the season. Injuries are always unfortunate, but you really have to feel for this guy. He has already come back from two major knee surgeries, and he suffered the same triceps injury at the end of last season. He hasn’t decided whether or not to have surgery, but if he does go under the knife he will be out for the year. This really hurts our depth on the offensive line, and although he isn’t a Pro Bowler by any means, his absence will hurt. I will update the situation further when news is released.

In other news, Kevin Dockery returned to the field after missing time with an ankle injury, so he should be fine goin forward. DE Chris Long was absent for the last two days of camp due to a death in the family. The team will have three more OTA sessions this week before breaking until training camp opens at the end of July.

Rams writer Jim Thomas reported earlier today that running back Steven Jackson had a minor procedure on his back to repair a herniated disk in April. Coach Spags said that the injury is nothing to worry about and that Jackson will be ready to go by training camp, but I must admit that I’m a bit concerned. It’s not like Steven has been immune to injury during his career, and with the beating he takes week in and week out, I could see this being a potential problem. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the team will need Jackson to be a workhorse again this year, and considering he is our one effective threat on offense, any back injury is of concern. It isn’t time to freak out, but I will certainly be watching him very closely when camp kicks off this summer.

The biggest concern I have with this news is that we have no viable options behind Steven on the roster right now. If he does miss time, I don’t think Kenneth Darby and Chris Ogbonnaya are good enough to keep the team competitive. I said yesterday that I like rookie Keith Toston, but I highly doubt he will be ready or able to carry a full load if something were to happen to Jackson. Brian Westbrook is still an option, but he is still considering his options for next season. This may be nothing to worry about, but it should at least be a wake-up call to management that they need to upgrade the talent at running back behind Jackson. He can’t do it alone, and it is pretty obvious that he needs someone else who is capable of taking some snaps while still being productive in the offense. It’s not a surprise that he is having back problems considering he has been carrying this team by himself for a couple of years. Someone else needs to step up and take some of the weight off Steven’s shoulders.