THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 4:22pm: St. Louis placed Quinn on its IR list, ending his season, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Defensive tackle Doug Worthington will ascend to the active roster in Quinn’s place, Nick Waggoner of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 4:45pm: The Rams will place two key defensive players on injured reserve this week, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, who tweets that defensive end Robert Quinn and safety T.J. McDonald will both land on season-ending IR within the next day or so. According to head coach Jeff Fisher, Quinn will require back surgery, while McDonald will require surgery on his shoulder (Twitter link).
Quinn, 25, is one of the league’s best pass rushers, having racked up double-digit sacks every year from 2012 to 2014. However, injuries have slowed him down this year, limiting him to just eight games. He recorded five sacks and three forced fumbles in those contests.
As for McDonald, he has started 37 games at safety for the Rams since joining the team in 2013, including 11 this season. McDonald and teammate Janoris Jenkins had a nasty collision during the Rams’ loss to the Cardinals on Sunday — in addition to sidelining McDonald, the hit also left Jenkins with a concussion.
The Rams will have two open roster spots to add defensive reinforcements prior to the team’s Week 14 game against the Lions.