Faulk will announce retirement Monday

~ The Rams' star running back has not played since the 2005 season.

ST. LOUIS -- Marshall Faulk sat out last season with a knee injury that threatened to end his career. On Monday he'll officially close the door on his playing days, announcing his retirement at the NFL owners meetings.

Faulk, 34, was the NFL MVP in 2000 and offensive player of the year three years running from 1999 to 2001. He helped the Rams win their only Super Bowl after the 1999 season and is ninth on the career rushing list with 12,279 yards and tied for sixth with 100 rushing touchdowns.

"He was great for St. Louis, he was great for the Rams and he made the dome an exciting place to be on Sunday," team spokesman Rick Smith said. "But it was just a matter of when he would retire."

Faulk began working for the NFL Network as an analyst last year when wear and tear began to get to his knees. He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection with seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons and 38 100-yard games. He was the first player in league history to gain 2,000 yards rushing and receiving in four consecutive seasons, doing so from 1998 to 2001.

His last 1,000-yard rushing season was in 2001, though, and he lost his starting job in 2004 when the Rams drafted Steven Jackson in the first round. Last year, Jackson became the Rams' first player since Faulk to accumulate 2,000 yards from scrimmage and broke Faulk's single-season reception mark with 88 catches.

"It has been an honor and pleasure to play in the National Football League," Faulk said in a statement. "I'd like to thank all my teammates and coaches with whom I've been associated over the past 13 seasons as well as the fans who supported me throughout the years.

"I gave the game my passion, and it gave me a wonderful career and memories that I will always be thankful for."

Faulk set an NFL record, since broken, with 26 touchdowns in his 2000 MVP season.

He played his first five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, and the Rams acquired him for second- and fifth-round draft picks.

Faulk had a career-low 292 yards rushing in 2005, his final season.