Mark Clayton may be more a mid-season replacement than a immediate answer for the St. Louis Rams wide receiver question. According to Jim Thomas at the PD, the Rams are expected to put Clayton on the PUP list to start the season, which means he cannot be activated until week seven.
If he does not join the active roster immediately after six weeks, he can at least begin practicing. Once he begins practicing, the Rams have three weeks to activate him or put him on the injured list for the rest of the season.
Assuming Clayton goes to the PUP list by Saturday, that saves the Rams from cutting one of the other receivers by the same deadline. Given the injury history of some of the players and past experience, Clayton offers a replacement should one of the active receivers be lost...or simply fail to make an impact, in which case Clayton can be activated and another receiver can hit the road.
An October return, after week six, would make it more than a year since Clayton last played football.
CB Marquis Johnson is also on the PUP list. Hopefully, he can get back on the field in October as well. The Alabama product has the tools to be a solid nickel corner. It might be a stretch to think he can make a big impact this season, with so little experience in the NFL, but having in the fold at least offers some depth and gets him the looks to see whether or not he can be contributor beyond this season.