Sam Bradford Injury: Rams QB Looks Unlikely To Play; LB Ben Leber Released

by Ryan Van Bibber on Dec 3, 2011 11:37 AM CST in 2011 NFL regular season

The St. Louis Rams parted ways with disappointing linebacker Ben Leber today, according to Jim Thomas. Taking his place on the roster is quarterback Tom Brandstater, promoted from the practice squad. The move is most likely a signal that the team will be without starting quarterback Sam Bradford for this week's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Bradford re-injured his ankle in last week's loss to Arizona. He practice a little on Wednesday, but then took zero reps on Thursday. He was very limited on Friday. The last time the Rams carried three active quarterbacks on their roster was when Bradford missed two weeks with the same ankle injury earlier in the season. Though it has not been confirmed yet, this is about as sure an indicator as you can get that Bradford will not play this weekend.

The Rams signed Leber, one of several veteran linebackers added in the offseason, to fix a weakside linebacker problem that plagued the team last year. Leber failed to produce with the Rams, spending most weeks on the inactive list. Instead the Rams have used a combination of players held over from last year's roster, including Brian Kehl and, most recently, Chris Chamberlain. The team's run defense has gotten worse this season, and currently ranks as the league's worst unit.

The failure to fix the run defense is nearly as scandalous as the failure to improve the offensive line. They spent far more money on the later unit.

News like this, it's little wonder there's talk that team owner Stan Kroenke is ready to make changes. A report out of San Diego cited sources who said that Chargers GM A.J. Smith could be in the mix to replace Devaney.

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sam bradford

the 65 million dollar sissy

by Ram_Redemption on Dec 3, 2011 12:17 PM CST reply actions

do you know hlw his fucking ankle feels jackass?

Have you ever even had a high ankle sprain? Are you aware that whether Sam plays or not isn’t even up to him?

Get off your fucking high horse and think before you post.

by Bralidore on Dec 3, 2011 2:30 PM CST up reply actions

+1

by ThomasZ on Dec 3, 2011 3:27 PM CST up reply actions

He was injury prone in college too.

Aaron Curry is the first Seahawk since Walter Jones to have a legitimate shot at Hall of Fame induction - John Morgan

by Fearless Frog on Dec 3, 2011 9:29 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

Sure he was....

by RamsFan1979 on Dec 3, 2011 11:39 PM CST up reply actions

No he wasnt

He had one injury that he reinjured..

Ignorance is Bliss

by RG31 on Dec 3, 2011 11:58 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

I really hope the Rams play a good game tomorrow

I don’t want to watch another team come in here and fall apart on us. Last time we almost lost one of our safeties because the Cardninals got mad and started picking fights.

The fight needs to play out between the whistles, not after them. I hope the Rams go out there and fight hard. I wouldn’t even mind losing if thats what it comes down to. You can’t sharpen iron with cotton.

"Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?"

by Pat Willie on Dec 3, 2011 12:27 PM CST reply actions

They probably will for a qtr and 1/2

But then reallity will rear its ugly head and they will sit on the ball. Even when they are down by 3 TDs.

I miss this rivalry. The 49ers – Rams should be fighting it out down to the wire. If nothing else the lesser team should be very capable of playing the spoiler role. Its just not possible right now. The Rams are worse than the niners were last year under Singletary. The niners were loaded with talent even if the coaches were dysfunctional.

by LARams1968 on Dec 3, 2011 12:34 PM CST up reply actions

oh thad, how foolish we were to let you go

lets keep another bum veteran on the roster, cut someone who actually shows promise, then realize our mistake months too late … and sign someone who shows even less promise

by ramerica on Dec 3, 2011 12:43 PM CST reply actions

Yea, that was a puzzling decision...

and saying “puzzling” is being nice.

TurfShowTimes editor and don't forget to check out our Rams Breakdowns on YouTube

Follow @PeterDunbar

"Hell was Mark Levoir even in camp? Who is Mark Levoir? Who am I? Wtf is going on?"
- Bralidore

by VTramsFan on Dec 3, 2011 7:26 PM CST up reply actions

rams 2-9 fo2-9 fans 2-9

we will get beat tomorrow

only one more quote for the day

I CALLED ALL THIS BEFORE THE PRE-SEASON EVEN BEGAN
JIST NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE ME

by jswirb on Dec 3, 2011 12:57 PM CST reply actions

i called it after the cuts

i still think with the cuts i posted we would be a ton better and with spags not thinking like he is a school girl

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 3, 2011 1:02 PM CST up reply actions

spags and billy

for best nfl minds of the year. these guys are smart , they release a promising rookie for thie guy then cut this guy. wow. genius i cant believe i didnt see how great they were. you spags family members on here are right give him 3 more years maybe we can have the worst pro sports franchise in the history of man. dahl starting at ss release stewart , who needs speed. mcd hates it in the wr corps he wants slow guys thats a great idea. hey how bout we make all our tes into lineman then we can really be a winner

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 3, 2011 1:01 PM CST reply actions

I feel for you guys

This is worse than us last year. The truth is the Rams never had a chance. You guys had the worse first half schedule I have ever seen. Basically the NFL put you against the seven teams you were least likely to beat. By the time you got to the easy part, injuries kept you down.

The Rams have some great talents on their team. It’s hard to see it when you guys are getting decimated by injuries and the record makes you depressed. If the Rams go get some dominance on both the offensive and defensive line next year, this team could be just what the NFC West needs to make it respected again.

"Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?"

by Pat Willie on Dec 3, 2011 1:09 PM CST up reply actions

yeh but

if u had a better team b4 the cuts and as soon as u saw the cuts u knew it would be hell it makes it so much worst. if we had this bad a team all preseason i would be ok but to know we got rid fo like 6 or 7 good young players for no reason and kept loser old no talent guys over them it hurts ALOT

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 3, 2011 1:14 PM CST up reply actions

What happened? Did the Rams have a bad draft?

Or are the Coaches making the team worse instead of better?

"Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?"

by Pat Willie on Dec 3, 2011 1:16 PM CST up reply actions

draft was decent except for pickin 2 wrs back to back that arent that good

we released a qb ,lb,de,wr,te,ss, and a dt that were way better then what we kept and way younger. it was puzzling most fans fell for team/media propaganda which u probly know 2 but i posted right after the cuts that we are f’d and that was 3 days after i thought we would be 11-5 lol but good luck to u guys i hope u dont score over 50 tomorrow rest frank after he breaks nfl single game record PLEASE lol

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 3, 2011 1:20 PM CST up reply actions

When the Rams get back on track I'll likely go back to hating them

Actually probably not, I do like Steven Jackson and Sam Bradford. Of course I liked Issac Bruce and hated the Rams not many years ago, so…

The key to football is having good linemen, get the linemen you need and the rest of the team can do alot more.

"Hey look over there. Isn't that John Candy?"

by Pat Willie on Dec 3, 2011 1:40 PM CST up reply actions

yeh i feel you

when ur team is so much better then a rival its not even fun to hate except of course there a cheating bunch of losers like the phillies lol

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 4, 2011 12:36 AM CST up reply actions

+1

by ThomasZ on Dec 3, 2011 3:29 PM CST up reply actions

oh yeah because they knew ben leber would fall off a cliff..

and become this unproductive. They just fucking KNEW this would happen. GTFO

by Bralidore on Dec 3, 2011 2:28 PM CST up reply actions

WHAT

are u fucking retarded , leber was off the cliff when we signed him u moron. jesus u delousinal fans are so stupid and then wanna try and sound smart but sound even more like retards. so leber was good when we released williams? please explain and how about kehl? or POP? yeh ur also a smart guy you know when a season is going down the drain you release young guys for older guys EVERYONE does it right. go back to school and dont be a moron again

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 4, 2011 12:38 AM CST up reply actions

Where is jabar? anyone know if he got picked up by another team?

Correction: Your phone jswirb's his name.... - DCRamFan

by ramsrule on Dec 3, 2011 1:01 PM CST reply actions

bears

he was too bad for our great team but a team that is like the bears can pick him up. spags is so damn smart it hurts

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 3, 2011 1:07 PM CST up reply actions

Well it's about GD time!

Formerly JBaccSTL. Been losing sleep over Rams football since 1999.

by Joe Mazzi on Dec 3, 2011 2:09 PM CST reply actions

A.J Smith...

worst GM EVER, please say it isn’t so.

LA Rams, Sounds great!!!

by mascettid on Dec 3, 2011 3:35 PM CST reply actions

Look no further than that Eric Weddle contract.

The guy is good, but that contract was straight silliness.

"Fac Fortia et Patere"

by FailureDrill on Dec 3, 2011 8:08 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

The Lord of No Rings.

Aaron Curry is the first Seahawk since Walter Jones to have a legitimate shot at Hall of Fame induction - John Morgan

by Fearless Frog on Dec 3, 2011 9:31 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

Jabrara is better off where he at.

This coaching staff(Especially Looney) can not develop young talent. With a #2 overall and a #33 overall pick you would think the Rams have a up and coming o-line. Do not see it. Smith is a bust#2 overall pick is a BUST. He is not even a Right Tackle and we drafted him to protect our QB’s blindside. I want everyone here to say it out load. " Rams drafted #2 overall pick and he could NOT make it as a Right Tackle". Say it out loud a few times and you will start to get pissed. I PROMISE !!!

http://www.codex99.com/illustration/images/foster/songbird_sm.jpg

by Da Rookie on Dec 3, 2011 9:03 PM CST reply actions

lol

no they wont they will say he was awesome till he got hurt. anything spags does is ok to them because he has only had 3 short years to completely change the team with all his players but still sj 39 was theold regime so its still not there fault that there best player is from the old regime is it?

Rams Bulls and Mets allllllllll day also i do love white castle

by G unit Rams on Dec 4, 2011 12:40 AM CST up reply actions