St. Louis Rams receiver Mark Clayton to have season-ending knee surgery | NFL

ST. LOUIS — Mark Clayton, a key receiver for the St. Louis Rams and a reliable option for rookie quarterback Sam Bradford, is done for the season.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Monday that Clayton will have season-ending surgery on his right knee to repair a torn patellar tendon. Clayton was hurt early in Sunday's 44-6 loss at Detroit.

Clayton, 28, is the third St. Louis wide receiver to suffer a season-ending injury in 2010. Donnie Avery and Dominique Curry both suffered torn knee ligaments.

"We certainly don't feel good about losing Mark because he's made a lot of plays for us, but we have to find a way to overcome that somehow," Spagnuolo said.

Clayton, acquired in a trade with Baltimore on Sept. 6, caught 23 passes for team-high totals of 306 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams (2-3).

With Clayton out, the St. Louis receiving corps is reduced to four players on the active roster — Danny Amendola, Laurent Robinson, ex-Washington State player Brandon Gibson and rookie Mardy Gilyard.

Owners to discuss

labor issues

CHICAGO — With negotiations on a new contract with players going slowly, league owners began their fall meetings Monday.

While the day was spent in committee meetings, a plan on how to proceed in those negotiations with the union for a new collective-bargaining agreement will be the main topic Tuesday.

These are the last regularly scheduled owners meetings before the CBA expires in March. But owners might have another get-together before that time, as they did before the Super Bowl in February.

DeMaurice Smith, NFL Players Association executive director, insists he expects the owners to lock out the players next year.

Notes

• Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio termed trade reports surrounding wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker "garbage."

Del Rio lashed out at reports suggesting Sims-Walker, 25, is on the trading block.

"I actually called out one of the people that was involved in some of that being spread because that's garbage," Del Rio said. "False, not credible and it's disappointing to see stuff like that just be thrown out there haphazardly without anybody checking any sources."

• Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking, a defensive captain, said the 1-3 Cowboys' problem — and solution — is rather simple: "You can't play stupid football."

• Quarterback Alex Smith will keep his starting job with the San Francisco 49ers (0-5) for at least another week.

"When I look at Alex, I'm convinced that there's something there that I feel that he can be a good quarterback," 49ers coach Mike Singletary said.

• Terrell Owens isn't concerned another television show — this one with fellow Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco — amounts to overexposure. "The T. Ocho Show" debuts Tuesday on Versus.

"With the two of us," Owens said, "I don't think you can really get enough of us."

Both players are mainstays in social media and cable TV.