Rams report, 8/23

* Schedule: open practice at 1:00 today, 12:30 tomorrow, after which the Rams "break camp." Kickoff for preseason game #3 is 7:00 Friday night in Kansas City.

* Injuries: May be time for the Rams to consider cutting ties with a couple of guys who are apparently never going to be reliably healthy. One is WR Danario Alexander, whose knee "felt funny" enough yesterday for the team to send him off for an MRI. God knows everyone around here wants Alexander to succeed. I just doubt the Rams can wait any more on his knees. The other is TE Michael Hoomanawanui. The risk in drafting him last year was his injury history, and that risk is not going to pay off. He missed half of last season, missed most of camp so far with a concussion, and pulled up yesterday with some kind of calf injury that Steve Spagnuolo sounded concerned about. Michael is a talent but an unmistakable injury liability. You can't make big plans around a guy who can't answer the bell half the time.

Other new injuries: Mardy Gilyard (thigh), Daniel Muir (ankle). These are minor injuries, but dammit, Gilyard is another guy the team cannot afford to have injured all the time.

Long list of injuries local media has not seen fit to update:
Mikail Baker, hamstring of death; Jacob Bell, knee (that's a pretty big one - somebody might want to get on that); Jermelle Cudjo, back; Na'il Diggs, bruised knee (Brady Poppinga has taken over as starting SLB - performance- or injury-related? Anyone? Bueller?); Dionte Dinkins, hyperextended knee; Randall Hunt, knee; Fendi Onobun, finger (probably playing); Fred Robbins, back (probably limited, same with Bell).

Returned to practice: Chris Long, Rodger Saffold.

* Transactions: The Rams cut Chris Massey yesterday. I can't link to my post on that because my laptop sucks. It's right below this post. I mentioned Poppinga has moved into the first unit at SLB; in addition, Ben Leber has moved into the starting defense at WLB.

I'll clear up some of the injury nonsense if I can find any further info.

-$-