Rams RB Jackson may play season finale with team

The St. Louis Rams are expecting running back Steven Jackson to wear back his Rams jersey to play the season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. Losing last Sunday’s game to the Arizona Cardinals 31-10 demonstrated how much it would mean if Jackson returned for the season finale.

Jackson was a surprise scratch for Sunday’s 31-10 loss at Arizona. He confirmed after the game that he’s been playing with a herniated disk that will not require surgery, and that he anticipates playing this weekend against the 49ers. But he stressed he didn’t want to hurt the team, either.

“I didn’t want to go out there for selfish reasons, for personal goals, or trying to have a streak to prove to people,” Jackson said. “It’s one of those decisions where I felt that it was in the best interest of the team and myself that I at least try to give myself a week to kind of come back strongly against San Francisco.”

As the only one-win team in the NFL, the Rams would be ensured the first shot at Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in next year’s draft if they failed to win the final game of the season.