By Cedric Williams
Two key members of the St. Louis Rams starting offense and defense returned to practice on Thursday, as left tackle Jake Long and outsideline linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar both participated fully in the club’s workout at the Rams Park training facility in Earth City.
Both players were at Wednesday’s practice, where the Rams began preparations for their 2014 NFL season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon at the Edward Jones Dome. But neither player did anything more than participate in a few individual drills and both were listed as limited on the official injury report released by the team.
On Thursday though, were players were full-go, with no limitations at all, making it an almost certainty that they both will start for St. Louis on Sunday.
Long, a seventh-year veteran who is entering his second season with the Rams, has been recovering from offseason knee surgery, after tearing both the MCL and ACL ligaments in his right knee in St. Louis’ second-to-last game of the 2013 season.
That type of injury usually requires a full year to recover, which could’ve meant Long would have missed this entire season, but the former University of Michigan star and Miami Dolphin No. 1 draft pick returned to action during training camp and played in two of the Rams’ four preseason games.
Dunbar, another seventh-year veteran out of Boston College, has been dealing with a shoulder ailment, but presumably won’t be hampered at all on Sunday.
Defensive end William Hayes (chest) also returned to practice on Thursday after being listed as limited on Wednesday, while fellow end Eugene Sims (knee) was remained limited in his preparation for Sunday.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson (knee) and offensive lineman Barrett Jones (back) were the only Rams players not to practice on Tuesday.
“We’ve had two really good practices in the heat and they’ve pushed right through it and they’ve pushed each other right through it,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said following Thursday’s practice. “Their attention level is very high in the meetings and they’re doing all the right things. They respect the opponent, they understand the challenges and they know it’s going to be a hard fought game, that’s how openers are. The challenge to them is to get to know an uncommon opponent and that’s what we’ve challenged them to do this week.”
For Minnesota, only one starter didn’t participate in practice on Thursday. That player was defensive end Everson Griffen, who sat out with an undisclosed illness. The fifth-year veteran out of USC is expected to start and play on Sunday.
ST. LOUIS RAMS Injury Report
Player Pos. Injury Status
Trumaine Johnson CB Knee Out
Barrett Jones C Back Out
Jake Long T Knee Probable
William Hayes DE Chest Probable
Jo-Lonn Dunbar LB Shoulder Probable
Eugene Sims DE Knee Questionable
MINNESOTA VIKINGS Injury Report
Player Pos. Injury Status
Brandon Watts LB Knee Out
Michael Mauti LB Back Out
Zach Line FB Ankle Out
Mike Harris T Shoulder Questionable
Jabari Price CB Shoulder Probable
Rodney Smith WR Neck Probable
Everson Griffen DL Illness Probable
For more Rams news and updates, visit Rams Central.
Cedric Williams, a lifelong St. Louisan and proud UMSL alum, has been a freelance reporter/photographer covering St. Louis area sports for nearly two decades. Most recently, he has been working as a credentialed beat writer covering the Rams and small-school college sports for Examiner.com and other outlets from around the area. Please share any comments, questions, or feedback with Cedric at cedricwilliams510@gmail.com. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
