EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long has played in 97 consecutive regular-season games since entering the league in 2008.
It's a streak that will come to an end Sunday when the Rams play at Tampa Bay as Long will undergo left ankle surgery Thursday morning with Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C.
The surgery is expected to keep Long out for eight to 10 weeks, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed the Rams will place Long on injured reserve with the designation to return later in the year.
"He will be back," Fisher said. "When, I can't predict at this point. We have a good feeling that he will be back at some point late this season."
Long suffered the injury early in the third quarter against Minnesota on Sunday when defensive tackle Kendall Langford was blocked into him and appeared to roll up on Long's ankle. Long was helped off the field and did not want to speculate on the injury at the time.
After discussing options with Fisher, all parties agreed that surgery was the best choice.
"We felt this was the best course of action for his ability to return this season but also his career," Fisher said.
Fisher said Long, who was voted a team captain last week, would return to be around the team as much as possible while he recovers. In the meantime, the Rams will turn to veteran end William Hayes to help fill the void left by Long.
For his part, Hayes is still in the process of coming back from three offseason surgeries. He had operations on his ankle, collarbone and hip and spent the preseason working to get back into football shape. Hayes' first game since the surgeries came last week.
"I just don't want to be a drop-off this week, that's one of the big things," Hayes said. "I feel like he would be disappointed in me if I was to go out there this week and just really bum it. It was a hard fight coming back from all my surgeries this year, but I'm ready to go."
Fisher said Hayes won't be the only one asked to help out in Long's stead. Veteran Eugene Sims is capable of playing both sides, and undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks could be active for the first time in his young career.
Long's surgery isn't the only noteworthy one for the Rams this week. Fisher said quarterback Sam Bradford had the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee repaired Monday.
"Sam decided over the weekend and talking to him that he wanted to go ahead and get it done and get on the comeback trail again that he knows so well," Fisher said.
Shaun Hill, who is Bradford's replacement, did not practice Wednesday with a quad injury. Fisher called Hill's injury day-to-day. Austin Davis got most of the work with the first team Wednesday, but recently signed Case Keenum also got a few reps.