By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

The results of quarterback Marc Bulger's MRI on his knee came in early Monday evening and Bulger has been diagnosed with a broken tibia.

Bulger will miss three to six weeks. The long end of that would put him out for the season and while that remains a possibility, coach Steve Spagnuolo said Monday evening that no decision has been made yet on whether Bulger will go on injured reserve.

Kyle Boller will start in his place this week with Keith Null as his backup. The Rams do have a roster spot that will be created by the placement of end C.J. Ah You on injured reserve. It's possible another signal caller could be brought in as insurance but that will be determined in the next couple of days.


Earlier Story

More often than not, the physical toll of an NFL Sunday for players doesn’t truly reveal itself until Monday morning.

That’s why the Rams went from having just two players worthy of mention on the injury front in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s 21-13 loss to Arizona to having a laundry list of nine players worthy of mention by coach Steve Spagnuolo on Monday afternoon.

“The list of injuries is a little bit longer than anticipated and certainly longer than what I talked about yesterday,” Spagnuolo said.

Indeed, the Rams, like many teams at this point in the NFL season, are about as banged up as anyone.

After Sunday’s game, Spagnuolo made mention of a blow to the head suffered by tackle Jason Smith as well as a similar blow and some hamstring issues for quarterback Marc Bulger.

On Monday afternoon, it appeared Bulger has the most health issues to deal with this week as the Rams prepare to take on Seattle at the Edward Jones Dome.

Bulger had two MRIs on Monday, one for his groin and hamstring area and another on his knee later in the afternoon.

“(He’s) pretty banged up,” Spagnuolo said. “Marc has got a few things going on.”

The first test revealed nothing more than a strain as Bulger played through the injured hamstring on Sunday. The results of the second test were not yet known but Bulger did have some knee soreness after last week’s game.

As for the blow to the head, Bulger will take his baseline tests on Tuesday in order for clearance to be able to play against the Seahawks.

Of all of the players on Spagnuolo mentioned, he acknowledged that his greatest concern as far as availability for this week might be Bulger.

“I guess standing here today with all of the things going on, I’d say yeah,” Spagnuolo said. “I don’t know. Marc is a pretty tough guy. He has found ways to bounce back from that but you are talking about a groin, hamstring, knee and head.”

The outcome of Bulger’s MRI on his knee isn’t the only one that hasn’t been determined. Fullback Mike Karney complained of some pain in his neck and was also having that tested on Monday afternoon.

“He feels something in there,” Spagnuolo said. “He just has some soreness back there and the only way to find out is to take a picture of it.”

Continuing the backfield theme is what sounds like a lesser injury but one that will still be worth monitoring this week as running back Steven Jackson’s name came up for the first time this season.

“(He) has a low back soreness, a muscle strain so we will be careful there,” Spagnuolo said.

The Rams will likely limit Jackson some early this week unless he returns to practice at full strength on Wednesday to ensure he can get to the game. Jackson has yet to miss time in the 2009 season.

Most of the rest of the walking wounded have what appear to be minor injuries that can be worked through.

Smith and linebacker Chris Chamberlain (who also has a mild ankle sprain) will join Bulger in the neurological baseline tests on Tuesday. As always, the Rams will be cautious with matters of the brain for all three players.

“It’s the same procedure we have had for all of those (head injuries),” Spagnuolo said.
“We are going to be very careful with all of those.”

Defensive end Leonard Little, who practiced and played through some knee soreness last week, has some pain in his lower back and also went for an X ray on Monday.

Spagnuolo said Little has had that issue for most of the season but had played through it and the X ray is a precautionary measure.

The only other injury of note is to left tackle Alex Barron, who has what Spagnuolo called a mild ankle sprain. Barron had to be re-taped and change shoes at halftime of Sunday’s game because of the injury.

On the bright side, end Chris Long, who was a game time decision because of a bone bruise in his knee, made it through the game OK and though he still has some soreness should be OK this week.

And finally, guard Richie Incognito, who has missed time with a Lisfranc injury in his foot, could potentially return this week against the Seahawks.

Incognito did some light running Monday morning but felt some slight irritation and the Rams are going to move forward cautiously.

“We’ll see if we can get him back this week,” Spagnuolo said. “We are not 100 percent of that right now. We’ll tread lightly.”

Meanwhile, the Rams are expected to place end C.J. Ah You on injured reserve in the next day or so. His replacement will likely be added then, as well.