Linebacker Jerue Waived by Rams

Mark Jerue’s remarkable football comeback after three knee operations in two years ended after six games Friday when the Rams put the seven-year veteran inside linebacker on waivers to make room on the roster for rookie cornerback Alfred Jackson.

Coincidentally, Jackson was put on injured reserve Oct. 18 to make room for Jerue, who seemed to have beaten the medical odds and returned after another career-threatening surgery last February.

Jerue, in the end, was lost in a numbers game at inside linebacker, where the Rams were suddenly loaded to capacity with the return of Fred Strickland and Larry Kelm from injuries.

The Rams needed to activate Jackson this weekend because of the uncertainty of cornerback Cliff Hicks, who is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of a knee strain.

Jerue’s knee is still not 100% and probably never will be, and he was more expendable than linebacker Richard Brown because of Brown’s value as a special teams player.

The decision was difficult for defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur, who also coaches inside linebackers.

“He took it like the man he is,” Shurmur said. “Football ought to mean as much to everyone who plays the game as it does to Mark Jerue. All you need to do is watch him working eight hours a day, five days a week in the off-season to bring back an injury everyone thought couldn’t come back.”

Jerue, 29, played six games this season, recording eight tackles and half a sack. His best season was 1986, when he made 109 tackles in 16 games after replacing injured starter Jim Collins.

Jerue couldn’t be reached for comment Friday, and his agent, Peter Funsten, wasn’t sure of Jerue’s chances of catching on elsewhere.

“We’ll just have to take a look and see where we are,” he said.