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Rams’ Roger Staffold Neck Injury Not As Bad As It Looked

St. Louis tackle Rodger Saffold went down in a heap Sunday, his head jammed into a defender. He was carted off the field, immobilized and in a neck brace. Everyone feared the worst.

Three days later, Saffold was back at Rams practice. What looked to be a serious neck injury turned out to be just a sprain, and he even participated in a light workout on Thursday.

“Right now, we’re taking it day-to-day,” Saffold said, via the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I’m getting movement back, more and more every day. The pain is getting less every day. I’ve really been putting a lot of work into using all of my off time to getting ready.

“I definitely thank everybody for their prayers and their thoughts. I’m just glad to be out here walking. It’s a blessing to be able to be on the field with the guys.”

Many feared the worst because of the way Saffold went down Sunday. Saffold had sensation in his limbs and he kept asking for game details in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Saffold this week will be replaced by Wayne Hunter at the left tackle spot against the Redskins.

Though Hunter was awful in New York, he actually performed competently Sunday when taking over for Saffold.

“I haven’t been in a lefthanded set in a while,” Hunter said. “Even as a swing guy in New York, D’Brickashaw [Ferguson] never got hurt, so I’ve always been backing up right tackles for pretty much five years. And even [in Seattle] Walter Jones never got hurt, so I’ve been pretty much a right tackle my whole career.

“What I found [Wednesday at left tackle] is that once you kind of get in the flow of things, it makes it a little bit easier. I know tomorrow’s practice will be even easier, and then the day after that. So I’ve just got to find a rhythm, I guess.”

Though Saffold won’t play this week, it’s heartening that he was well enough to participate Wednesday. No one would have expected that after the way he injured.

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