The last thing the St. Louis Rams need is another injury to their receiving corps, and it looks like recently returned tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who left the game in the second quarter with an apparent arm injury, won’t be the next player on the list. Hoomanawanui was targeted again to start the fourth quarter; the pass was completed for four yards, but ruled incomplete when Danny Amendola was called for offensive pass interference.
Hoomanawanui, a fifth round pick from the University of Illinois in the 2010 NFL Draft, has six receptions for 44 yards in a short career that’s already been interrupted by injury—he’s played in four of the Rams’ eight games. He’s one of a corps of tight ends that’s proved increasingly important to Sam Bradford, who’s looked to them for all manner of short passes when his decimated receiving corps can’t get into position downfield.
Hoomanawanui also has no shortage of nicknames, which is reason enough to hope he’s healthy—he’s both “Uh Oh” and “Illinois Mike” to people who don’t want to attempt to pronounce his name, which is both difficult to spell and not spoken at all like it’s spelled.