The St. Louis Rams have gotten big games from Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens in Danny Amendola's absence—though never at the same time—but it's certainly good news that Amendola finally practiced last week. He didn't play, but it was a step out of the weird cycle that had seen him go into Sunday an inexplicable, doubtful-all-week game-time decision. For Week 15, a crucial, playoff-implications(!) matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, our breathless Danny Amendola updates will at least have an exciting new cadence.

Jim Thomas, in Tuesday's Post-Dispatch chat, added some useful numbers to the usual speculation, saying that his foot problem is "a four-to-six-week injury, and this Sunday will mark four weeks." For a normal player, that might mean the Rams could be stuck waiting as many as two more weeks for their No. 1 receiver. For Amendola, whose major flaw as a player is returning too quickly from injuries, actually taking four weeks to return from a four-to-six-week injury suggests the Rams have actually forced him to sit out longer than he'd like.

In any case, after weeks of doubtful, the questionable--the honest-chance-of-playing speculation--starts now. The Rams are finally competing, and if Amendola can practice for a second week in a row it's unlikely they'll be able to keep him off the field.