Published: Sunday, October 12, 2008
Updated: Sunday, October 12, 2008 8:06 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Rams promoted receiver Derek Stanley from the practice squad Friday, while Dane Looker said additional tests on his brain after a spot was found have not yet revealed answers.

St. Louis (0-4) plays at Washington (4-1) after a bye week that saw a coaching change from Scott Linehan to Jim Haslett.

Haslett said the Rams moved up Stanley, when it became clear Looker would be inactive for the game.

“He’s going to talk to the doctor some more today and next week, and hopefully come up with a conclusion next week,” Haslett said.

Looker said he had an angiogram Thursday. The additional test was taken to try and rule out an aneurysm after a CAT scan that cleared him from a concussion revealed a brain abnormality.

“We don’t know for sure right now what it is,” Looker said. “We’re going to take some tests and see what it is. I’ll meet with the doctor on Tuesday, and he’ll talk to some more doctors.

“I’m good. I’m not playing this week but I’m hopeful about the future.”

The 5-foot-11, 179-pound Stanley, who signed a contract Friday, played in the final three games as a rookie in 2007 and returned kickoffs. He also saw some time as a receiver but did not have any receptions. He did have one rush for five yards.

“I’ve been working all week in different packages and stuff in the offense, and it’s finally here,” Stanley said after practice. “I didn’t know for sure that it would happen. They had been telling me all week but nothing was ever official. Today, it was. I went upstairs and signed the papers.”

The Rams released second-year safety Brannon Condren to make room for Stanley.

“It’s definitely exciting. I want to be able to help and give the team a little spark,” Stanley said. “I’m always prepared. I feel like I can make some big plays and give this offense a little bit of juice if need be.”

Besides being a receiver, Stanley said he expects to play on the special teams. “I’ll be able to back up Dante (Hall) if anything goes wrong there,” Stanley said about kickoff returns. “I’ve been doing that all season in practice. I’m way more comfortable than I was last year. It’s like night and day.”

Stanley returned 20 kickoffs last season, averaging 25.5 yards per return.

Veteran Torry Holt said he will do all he can to help Stanley adjust during the game. “It’s going to be interesting because he’ll have his little jitterbugs,” Holt said. “I’ll try and give him little words of encouragement, kind of give him a little scenario of what it was like when I played my first game.

“He’s probably one of the most athletic receivers we have on our squad. Hopefully, he can get out on Sunday and make some plays for us and get this thing turned around. With his youth and athleticism, he can add some spunk to our offensive unit. I’m looking forward to watching him play.”

It appeared the Rams would make the move on Stanley earlier in the week when they released Eddie Kennison. But after Looker was ruled out, the Rams re-signed Kennison.