Wells has broken foot, heading to IR

[Rambos]

Well broken foot per Jeff Fisher presser, on IR. Gone for at least six weeks.

[Rambos]

By Brandon Worley - Contributor

Rams C Scott Wells will be placed on IR after suffering a broken foot in the team's season opener against the Detroit Lions.

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Sep 10, 2012 - The St. Louis Rams will place starting center Scott Wells on injured reserve, according to Adam Caplan. Wells was injured in the season opener against the Detroit Lions and was diagnosed with a broken foot after the game.

It's likely that this move is to take advantage of the new NFL injured reserve rule, that allows teams to place an injured player on IR and bring him back later in the season when healthy. Teams can only use this exception once a season. Under the old rule, once a player was placed on injured reserve they were out for the season.

Robert Turner moved from guard to center after Wells' injury, with rookie Rokevious Watkins replacing Turner's spot.

Wells was signed in the offseason to a four-year, $24 million contract to be the starting center for the Rams after playing seven years with the Green Bay Packers and being named to his first Pro Bowl in December of 2011.

[tomahawk247]

Rams coach Jeff Fisher revealed Monday that C Scott Wells will go on injured reserve with a fractured foot.
It's a nightmare situation after St. Louis also lost LT Rodger Saffold (neck) indefinitely in the opener. Signed to a $24 million deal in the offseason, Wells was expected to spark the Rams' interior line as a plus run blocker and pass protector. The Rams will now turn to career backup Rob Turner at center. Steven Jackson managed just 53 yards on 21 carries in Week 1, and he may continue to struggle to find running lanes the rest of the way.

I think a signing will be coming soon. I don't think Turner and Watkins did too badly at C and G respectively, all things considered. Our only offensive TD came with them in the game.

[Nick]

Hardly the news I wanted to come home to.

[AtlantaRamFan]

Ouch..it's frustrating as a fan having a "big" signing in the offseason play about 2 quarters of football after being out for most of camp with an injury..jeez. I'm more worried about the line calls and leadership he provided than I am about his actually blocking ability (which will most definitely be missed). Hopefully someone can step up or the offense might now look much better than in Detroit.

[RealRam]

What! Man, what a bad break. I feel for Wells, he's a good center.

As THawk247 said, a signing is imminent. And just as imperative is that we keep our OL on duty, healthy for crying out loud! Thanks Rambos for the report, albeit bad news.

[Trevor]

I just heard this on Sports center like 2 minutes ago and came here to see if it was true. OMG...

[r8rh8rmike]

An effective OL is absolutely critical for the offense to accomplish anything. Losing Wells for an extended period of time is devastating. I just can't believe it. I'm extremely worried and frustrated, but won't fall into complete despair until I see how the line performs against Washington. Hopefully guys will step up.

[macrammer]

These guys are all pros. It will all work out and wells will be back by week 8 or so.....

[Rambos]

An effective OL is absolutely critical for the offense to accomplish anything. Losing Wells for an extended period of time is devastating. I just can't believe it. I'm extremely worried and frustrated, but won't fall into complete despair until I see how the line performs against Washington. Hopefully guys will step up.

I agree Mike, the one positive is Turner did play the preseason and played well. Fisher said today coach Boo will have his work cut out for him this week. Rok is going to have to step up and play.

What is amazing is we seem to get hit with injuries to one unit... O line and D line, It's never spread out or so it seems.

[Rambos]

Nick Wagoner

Left tackle Rodger Saffold was out of a Detroit hospital Sunday night and returned to St. Louis on Monday morning.



When it comes to a pair of injuries suffered by offensive linemen in Sunday’s game against Detroit, the Rams got good news and bad news on Monday morning.

First, the good news is that tackle Rodger Saffold’s neck injury doesn’t appear to be anything more than a strain. While it’s unknown how long that will keep him out, it’s a drastic leap from what appeared to be a serious injury when it occurred.

On receiver Brandon Gibson’s 23-yard touchdown catch, Saffold crumpled to the ground and did not get up until he was taken away on a backboard by an emergency cart.

Saffold stayed in a Detroit hospital for tests but was discharged Sunday night and spent the night in the Motor City before returning to St. Louis on Monday morning.

“He’s back here with us,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “His tests were negative, the CAT scan and X rays were all negative. He’s got some further tests to do but at this point, it’s just a significant strain so he was very lucky. That’s good news.”

On the flip side, the Rams got some not-so-good news on center Scott Wells’ foot injury.

Fisher revealed Monday afternoon that Wells has a fractured fifth metatarsal in his foot that will require surgery.

The Rams will place Wells on injured reserve in short order and then take advantage of a new league rule that allows one player to return to the active roster from that list after a six-week period.

“It’s unfortunate for us but it is fortunate that we’ll be able to clear a roster spot for him,” Wells said. “I won’t go into details as far as the direction we are going to move on the roster.”

With Wells out, the Rams have only Robert Turner, the man who replaced him Sunday, available in terms of centers. It’s likely they’ll look to add someone else capable of playing that spot.

As for Wells, his injury appears to be somewhat run of the mill but comes as a disappointment after Wells had just returned to action from an offseason knee surgery a few weeks ago.

“That’s estimated time,” Fisher said. “But each one is different. This one is not as severe as some that the doctors have seen. It’s a clean break and it’s a simple procedure.”

Most likely, the Rams will be without Saffold and Wells this week, leaving them in search of options for filling those voids.
Against the Lions, Robert Turner, who started at left guard, moved to center when Wells was injured. Rookie Rokevious Watkins replaced him at left guard while Wayne Hunter stepped in at left tackle for Saffold.

Upon viewing the game tape, Fisher said both did fine in their opportunities but had some hiccups.

“Wayne was OK. Wayne has played the position, he’s experienced, he was OK,” Fisher said. “Rok had some things happen in front of him and when it comes to communicating with Scott and then Rob went back in and he had a lot going on in there. So we’ll get it settled down this week.”

The task of “settling” the offensive line starts in one place, according to Fisher. Continuity and communication are keys for an offensive line but the Rams haven’t had many chances to develop either considering the musical chairs they’ve had with that group in the opening weeks of the season.

“It starts with protections,” Fisher said. “We’ll run it but then it starts with protections. Everybody has to be on the same page. You don’t want free runners on the quarterback and so people stepping back and people stepping up and coming off the edge, everybody has to be on the same page.”

While Turner will almost certainly handle the center duties and Hunter will likely step in at tackle, the left guard situation might be more up for grabs. Fisher indicated that newly-acquired tackle Ty Nsekhe and guard Shelley Smith could be ready to go this week.

Smith, in particular, might get a long look this week. After missing all of the 2011 season with an injury, he said he’d relish the chance to get back in the game.

“I’m going to do whatever I have to do to help the team,” Smith said. “If that means I have got to speed along and be ready to go, I’ll do whatever I need to help the team whenever I’m needed.”

The Rams claimed Smith on waivers from Houston, winning out over three other teams for his services. With the Texans, Smith was in more of a zone scheme so part of his adjustment involves switching to a scheme that still has some zone principles but isn’t as heavy on it as Houston.

“They do some zone scheme here but it’s a bit different,” Smith said. “But in the end it’s football. I’m just learning the new system and moving forward.”

Regardless of which five ends up stepping into the mix against Washington this week, the onus will fall on them to protect quarterback Sam Bradford and do a better job of creating running room in the ground game.

Turner, who so far has been an extremely valuable pickup if for no other reason than his versatility, knows better than anyone what is required of he and his linemates.

“That’s what we have got to be able to do,” Turner said. “I’m not the only guy that does that. We have multiple guys…It’s not any one guy. Yes, that’s an extra ability I have but we have multiple guys on this team like that.”

[Bing69]

Hes going to have a hard time running after all his 'kids' now

[HUbison]

These guys are all pros. It will all work out and wells will be back by week 8 or so.....

IR is season ending. He won't be back until next year.

[r8rh8rmike]

IR is season ending. He won't be back until next year.

I thought the same thing HUb, but apparently, there is a new rule this year that will allow him to come back:

The Rams will place Wells on injured reserve in short order and then take advantage of a new league rule that allows one player to return to the active roster from that list after a six-week period.

[HUbison]

I thought the same thing HUb, but apparently, there is a new rule this year that will allow him to come back:

Really?? Well, that's great! I'd already written him off until the next offseason.