Season is over for Rams’ Smith
Lingering concussion symptoms have ended the season of offensive
tackle Jason Smith, who was placed on the injured-reserve list
Friday. Smith suffered the concussion Oct. 23 early in the Rams’
loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Since then, he has attended a few
meetings but had not been cleared to practice.
Smith attempted a light workout Monday but experienced
concussion symptoms at about 50 percent exertion.
“He’s getting close, but he’s not there,” Rams coach Steve
Spagnuolo said. “He hasn’t done anything for a month and the
concern got to be if we waited another week and then two weeks and
then tried to get him ready to go, were we doing the right thing
for the player? In that, you don’t do anything for five weeks and
then you rush him out there and he hurts something else, so we’re
trying to be smart about it. He’ll fight through this thing just
like he did a couple years ago, and we’ll get him back and he’ll be
ready to roll.”
This concussion is the third that Smith has been diagnosed with
since joining the Rams as the second pick overall of the 2009
draft. He missed five games that year and one last year because of
concussions, but Spagnuolo hesitated to predict whether this one
could threaten Smith’s career.
“Nobody has talked that way,” he said. “We’re going to make sure
that we do everything possible. We’re going to do the right thing,
get him with the right people. I think we’ve done that to this
point. But it just seemed like the right thing to do right
now.”
To take Smith’s spot on the active roster, the Rams signed
center and guard Bryan Mattison, who was cut from the Ravens’
roster Wednesday. In his second season out of Iowa, Mattison
appeared in eight games this season and two last year for
Baltimore.
KENDRICKS CLEARED TO PLAY
Tight end Lance Kendricks was cleared for contact and was listed
as probable for Sunday, when the Rams face the Arizona Cardinals at
the Edward Jones Dome. Kendricks suffered a concussion late in
Sunday’s 24-7 loss to the Seahawks on a hit from safety Kam
Chancellor. The NFL fined Chancellor $40,000 for the hit to a
defenseless receiver, relatively stiff by league standards. Two
weeks ago, Chancellor was fined $20,000 for his hit against the
Ravens’ Anquan Boldin.
“I guess he deserved it from what I saw. It looked pretty
intentional. Hopefully, it won’t happen again,” Kendricks said,
referring to last Sunday.
Kendricks couldn’t remember the hit, but after seeing the
replay, said, “The injury wasn’t as bad as it could have been,
which is good for me. Coming down the middle of the field like
that, you’re not protected at all. You’ve got your guard down,
trying to catch the ball and watch two safeties. There’s nothing
much a receiver can do but try to catch the ball.”
The league also find Seattle tackle Russell Okung $7,500 for a
late hit on Rams linebacker Brady Poppinga.
clayton weighs SURGERY
Spagnuolo said wide receiver Mark Clayton has considered the
possibility of surgery on one or both knees, since he was placed on
the injured-reserve list Wednesday.
“I’m not 100 percent certain and I know Mark mentioned that,
when him and I talked,” Spagnuolo said. “In his mind what he
thought he needed was what he called, ‘to be cleaned out.’”
Clayton took a long road back from season-ending knee surgery in
October 2010. He was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform
list at the start of this season and played in just two games. He
had three catches for 26 yards Sunday.
INJURY UPDATE
Three players did not practice Friday and were listed as out for
Sunday: defensive tackle Justin Bannan (shoulder), linebacker Josh
Hull (hamstring) and offensive tackle Mark LeVoir (pectoral).
Those who were limited in practice and listed as questionable
were defensive end Chris Long (ankle), running back Cadillac
Williams (calf), wide receiver Danario Alexander (hamstring) and
linebacker James Laurinaitis (foot), though Spagnuolo noted that
the latter took most of the reps.
“We’re trying to save the thing, but again, it’s trying to get
(Laurinaitis) as healthy as we can for Sunday,” Spagnuolo said.
Players listed as probable were Kendricks, wide receiver Austin
Pettis (knee) and cornerback Justin King (knee).