Although it was originally announced that the St. Louis Rams had placed defensive end Eric Moore on the injured reserve list, the team has instead reached an injury settlement with him.

Moore suffered a hand injury late in the Rams’ preseason finale against Kansas City. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said last Friday that the hand was not broken, so it was surprising when the Rams placed him on the injured reserve list in the last roster move made to reach the 53-man limit Saturday.

But taking advantage of the five-day window to reach an injury settlement, Moore is eligible to re-sign with the Rams in Week 7. (He can sign with any other team immediately.)

Moore, 28, was a popular player in the locker room, known as ”Rev” by his teammates. He has been with the Rams for the past 2 1/2 seasons, appearing in 17 games over that span with 15 tackles and two sacks. Moore had an impressive preseason, with two sacks (and two forced fumbles), both of which helped preserve preseason victories.

Although it doesn’t happen often, Moore could end up back with the Rams as early as the Oct. 25 game against Indianapolis. In fact, since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, such a move has happened only once.

In 2007, the Rams reached an injury settlement with offensive lineman Todd Steussie, who suffered a foot injury in the preseason finale that year against Kansas City. Not only did Steussie return, he started the final six games of that season at right guard.