The St. Louis Rams' bye week was about as well-placed as it could have been, short of coming about five minutes before Mark Clayton blew his knee out, making this week's NFL Injury Report a happier occasion than the average look through football's walking (and sometimes not-walking) wounded.
↵Most pressingly, offensive tackle Jason Smith will be due back after missing a game following his most recent concussion. Smith, the second pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, missed the last month of his rookie season following another concussion, but this one doesn't appear to be so serious, although it's impossible not to worry about the cumulative effects when a 24-year-old misses part of his first two seasons with head injuries.
↵LT Rodger Saffold, whose selection necessitated Smith's move along the offensive line, sat out today's practice as a precautionary measure pertaining to a sore shoulder, but he's expected to play as normal Sunday. Steven Jackson, who played on October 31 less than a week after finger surgery, will be another week removed from it, and better able to—you know, hold onto the ball. The cumulative effect of his multiple injuries had to have been wearing on him; the week off couldn't come at a better time, as the Rams head into the second half of their season tied for the NFC West lead.
↵Oft-injured wide receiver Danario Alexander is back in uniform following his most recent knee surgery, but won't play against San Francisco. Alexander, who's torn his ACL multiple times but is somehow far down the waiting list for a spring-loaded bionic knee, "[plans] on playing in the next couple of weeks." The question then is how long he'll be able to play, and when the NFL will end their capricious ban on players who are half-robot.