On top of starting the season 0-3 and holding the NFL’s current longest losing streak at 13 games, the news got worse Monday afternoon at Rams Park in Earth City, MO. Three injuries to top players is making the uphill climb that much more difficult.
Starting quarterback Marc Bulger has what is being called a rotator cuff bruise. It is not a tear, although he could not raise his arm about his head. Bulger is expected to be out a minimum one to two weeks. He is leaning toward getting a second opinion to make sure he doesn’t have a tear.
Safety James Butler could be out anywhere from two to four weeks after he strained some knee ligaments. The biggest blow comes with the news that wide receiver Laurent Robinson is most likely out for the year with not only a high ankle sprain, but a fractured fibula in his right leg.
Robinson was leading the team with 13 catches for 167 yards in the first three games. The good news to come out of Sunday was that receiver Donnie Avery has sore ribs, but isn’t expected to miss any time. As for Bulger who has spent the majority of this season injured and trying to learn a new offensive system, he will give way to Kyle Boller who provided a spark for the offense when Bulger was injured.
Butler will be replaced by Craig Dahl who ended up finishing as the team’s leading tackler on Sunday. Before that, Dahl hadn’t played in a game in almost two years. He was brought in by Spagnuolo after he spent two years with Spagnuolo’s defense in New York.