St. Louis’ Martz out indefinitely

Mike Martz is out indefinitely as coach of the St. Louis Rams with a bacterial infection of the heart.

Martz was told by a specialist Monday that his condition, which kept him out of two practices last week, had worsened. The 54-year-old has been ill for more than a month and was tested for endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the lining of the heart or a heart valve.

After the Rams’ 37-31 loss Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks, Martz said he shouldn’t have been on the sideline. St. Louis dropped to 2-3.

Rams president John Shaw said Monday that Martz will be hospitalized four to 12 days but would not speculate on the length of his absence. Shaw said he wasn’t told the specific name of the illness, but was led to believe Martz’s heart valve had weakened since last week.

“I think he was concerned he was letting down a lot of people, but also had concern about the gravity of the situation,” Shaw said.

The antibiotics that Martz began taking Friday didn’t seem to help, Shaw said, but he didn’t know if any additional procedures would be necessary. Severe cases of endocarditis can require open-heart surgery.

Martz told his players during a brief but emotional team meeting that he would step aside. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt will take over as coach.

McAllister likely done for season

Deuce McAllister likely will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Sunday at Green Bay.

Saints coach Jim Haslett said Monday the running back got a second opinion in San Antonio. He’ll get a third opinion from Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., later this week.

“If that’s the case, a torn ligament, he’s out for the year,” Haslett said. “I feel bad first of all for Deuce. He’s worked hard to get to this point. He’s a great football player.”

McAllister became the leading career rusher for the Saints earlier this season. He’s had three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons plus three straight seasons with 30 or more receptions coming out of the backfield.

He has rushed for 335 yards and a 3.6 average this season with three touchdowns.

Jackson will have surgery

Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee Wednesday to remove loose cartilage from an old injury.

Jackson has a bone bruise in the knee, but while getting a second opinion in Florida late last week, doctors noticed the loose cartilage from an injury suffered a few years ago, coach Mike Holmgren said.

Jackson was given options to handle the situation, and he chose surgery.

“I’d be wrong to give you a time frame on that, but it’d be a few weeks and then we’ll have him back on that type of surgery,” Holmgren said.

Jackson was third in the league with 29 catches through the first four games, but did not play in Sunday’s 37-31 win over St. Louis.

Williams back with Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins made a substantial offensive upgrade, adding a certified yoga instructor and student of holistic medicine notorious for his shyness and mercurial behavior.

Yes, Ricky Williams is back.

Returning from a four-week suspension that followed a one-year retirement, Williams took part in the team’s brief walkthrough session. He’ll rejoin practice Wednesday and likely play Sunday at Tampa Bay – his first game since December 2003.

The Dolphins (2-2) won’t burden Williams with the heavy workload that helped send him to Australia and India for an extended vacation. Instead, he’ll share time with Ronnie Brown, the No. 2 overall pick in the April draft, who rushed for 229 yards in the past two games.

Davenport goes on IR

Running back Najeh Davenport underwent season-ending surgery to repair his broken right ankle and the Green Bay Packers placed him on injured reserve.

The Packers, who are off this weekend, probably won’t replace him on the roster until next week.

“We’re going through our options, and we don’t feel compelled to fill the spot right away,” general manager Ted Thompson said.

Thompson, who signed free agent running back ReShard Lee last week, said he wouldn’t necessarily sign another running back, either.