Danny Amendola injury: After near-miss, St. Louis Rams receiver probably back following bye week

The St. Louis Rams' Week 9 bye couldn't be timed much better as they look to regroup following a bruising London loss to the Patriots—not only will they get a week to figure out what went wrong, they'll also get another week of rest for No. 1 wide receiver Danny Amendola, who nearly returned after just three weeks off following a "separated SC joint" injury that almost killed him. He was practicing enough, in London, to be questionable for Week 8, but at gametime it was announced that he couldn't go.

It took a superhuman effort to even get that close, and if the Rams were playing on Sunday things might be just as touch-and-go. The extra week, though, gets us all the way to Week 10, into the original estimate for the amount of time Amendola might miss. Barring any setbacks he seems likely to start against the San Francisco 49ers in the Rams' return to America.

The Rams could certainly use him. Despite missing three of their eight games so far Sam Bradford's favorite target still holds a four-reception lead among all Rams receivers; it's been great to see Brandon Gibson play well, and to watch Chris Givens emerge as a legitimate deep threat, but it'll be nicer still to watch all of that happen while Danny Amendola continues to give Bradford an alternative to holding onto the ball a bit too long and getting sacked again.