Williams suffers season-ending knee injury

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams tight end Roland Williams will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, coach Mike Martz said Monday.

Cam Cleeland, 30, who played for the Rams in 2003 and 2004, may return. He was expected in St. Louis by Tuesday, but Martz wasn't certain if Cleeland would be ready for Sunday's game at home against Seattle.

"I'd love to have him back on this team. I know what he can do. He can make a lot of plays for us," Martz said.

Williams, a starter for the 1999 Rams team that won the Super Bowl and back in St. Louis this season after a four-year absence, tore ligaments in his right knee midway through the first quarter in Sunday's 44-24 loss to the New York Giants.

"He will have to have a major repair of the knee," Martz said.

The loss sets about a continuation of musical chairs at tight end. Williams, 30, spent his first three seasons in St. Louis before being traded to Oakland prior to the 2001 season. He was with the Raiders in 2001, 2002 and 2004, with a stop in Tampa Bay in 2003.

Cleeland, meanwhile, played for the Rams in 2003 and 2004. He caught just seven passes for 57 yards last season, but his touchdown catch beat Seattle in the first round of the playoffs.

With Williams available in the offseason, Cleeland was not re-signed. Williams caught three passes for 21 yards this season.

Martz said his game plan for the Giants game called for running Steven Jackson behind frequent two-tight-end sets, a plan that ended when Williams was hurt on a tackle by Curtis Deloatch less than eight minutes into the game.

"We had a lot of things we were excited about doing that, as soon as he was injured, were done," Martz said.