EARTH CITY, Mo. -- After placing defensive end Chris Long on injured reserve with the designation to return Wednesday afternoon, the St. Louis Rams now have two of their most valuable assets on the injured reserve list.

In the span of less than a week, Long and quarterback Sam Bradford will have undergone a major operation. Bradford had surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Monday and Long was slated to have his procedure Thursday morning in Charlotte.

As though the deck wasn't already stacked against the Rams in the difficult NFC West division, the Rams have now lost two of their most important contributors and leaders and have a big chunk of change tied up in the injured reserve list.

Bradford ($17,610,000) and Long ($12,905,600) represent the two players slated to count the most against the team's 2014 salary cap, coming in at a combined total of $30,515,600 in cap charges for the 2014 season. The cash payouts due Bradford and Long come in at a combined $27,420,600.

But what's most hurtful here for the Rams is the amount of their salary cap tied up in two players who will not be able to provide value in return for their lucrative salaries. With an adjusted salary cap of $132,327,529, the Rams have 23 percent of their 2014 salary cap committed to Long and Bradford. Bradford will not play in a game this season and even if Long returns at the earliest possible date with his designation, he'd play a maximum of nine games.

If you add in other players such as running back Isaiah Pead to land on long-term injured reserve or receive injury settlements, the Rams now have more than $32 million on injured reserve, which comes up just short of 25 percent of their salary cap.

Losing your starting quarterback and defensive captain in a span of a couple weeks would be tough for any team to overcome on the surface. Looking at it in economic terms only makes it hurt more.