It was a double down weekend for the St. Louis Rams, and not in a good way. The Rams lost both their preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders, and their starting cornerback E.J. Gaines was lost for the 2015 season due to an ankle injury. It’s still early yet and the team can certainly recover. They have a week before they hit the field again this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
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In addition to losing Gaines, the Rams saw linebacker Darren Bates and starting left guard Rodger Saffold both leave last Friday’s matchup against the Raiders due to injuries. Bates suffered an MCL sprain, likely putting him out for the remainder of the preseason. Saffold suffered a shoulder injury and given his history is a little more concerning. Nick Wagoner from ESPN has the latest.
St. Louis catches a break with Bates, still waiting on Saffold.
In more injury news, Gaines was not the only player to go down over the weekend. The goal of St. Louis and every other team in the preseason is to make it through relatively unscathed. We’re not off to a good start. Marc Sessler of NFL.com comments further on the Gaines injury, what it means for the Rams, and other injury news around the league.
Injury updates including Gaines and others from the NFL.
In some of the more unique news from the weekend slate, running back Jarryd Hayne of the San Francisco 49ers had himself a nice game. Normally, a back up running back wouldn’t really land on anyones radar, but Hayne is a unique story. You see, Hayne is a former rugby star and might be making himself a home in the void of start talent in the Bay area. Hayne racked up 63 rushing yards on just five carries in a preseason loss to the Houston Texans.
San Francisco 49ers hope they have something in unknown former rugby player.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers made news once again over the weekend, but all depending on your opinion, may not have been for the wrong reasons. Harrison’s sons received a couple of “participation” trophies for a sports league they play in. However, Harrison was to have none of it, and while declaring how proud he was of his boys, would be doing away with the two awards.
James Harrison tells the world how he feels about “participation” trophies.
In recent quarterback news, Phillip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers signed a 4-year extension with $65 million in guarantees. On the other side of the country, once touted as a franchise-changing signal caller, the Buffalo Bills E.J. Manuel has been demoted to the third-team. Two players, on two different sides of the country, now on two very different paths of the NFL.
San Diego Chargers and Phillip Rivers agree on 4-year deal worth $84 million.
Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor now hold the upper hand on former first-round pick E.J. Manuel.
We’ll wrap up this news drop with some very heartfelt updates from Kansas City. The sister franchise of the Rams in the state of Missouri, the Chiefs recently had one of their best players, and one of the league’s best, Eric Berry return from a battle with cancer. Berry returned this past weekend victorious in battle to help lead the Chiefs to a resounding 34-19 preseason victory over the Arizona Cardinals. A story much bigger than football and Matt Verderame of Arrowhead Addict tells it well.
Eric Berry returns from his battle with cancer to a stadium of emotion and more.