Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Roster counts by position for NFC West Pos. ARI SF STL SEA NFL Avg. QB 3 3 3 3 2.8 RB 5 4 4 4 4.6 WR 6 6 5 5 5.5 TE 3 2 3 3 3.0 OL 9 9 9 9 8.8 DL 7 7 10 10 8.4 LB 8 8 6 7 7.1 DB 9 11 10 9 9.7 ST 3 3 3 3 3.0 Totals 53 53 53 53 53.0

The Seahawks and Rams have been the hardest hit by injuries among NFC West teams through three regular-season games.

Most of the injuries haven't been serious enough to land players on injured reserve, however, and that means non-contributing players are counting against the 53-man roster limits. That stood out when I was updating 26-column NFC West rosters, available for download here and featuring summary information relative to the rest of the NFL.

The Rams' list of active-but-injured starters includes quarterback Marc Bulger, right tackle Jason Smith and safety James Butler. Receiver Laurent Robinson and defensive tackle Adam Carriker are among those on injured reserve, meaning they're out for the season and do not count against the 53-man limit. Starting linebacker David Vobora will not count against the 53-man limit while serving a four-game suspension beginning in Week 4.

The Seahawks' active-but-injured list includes quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, fullback Justin Griffith, left tackle Walter Jones, left guard Rob Sims, linebacker Leroy Hill, linebacker Lofa Tatupu and cornerback Josh Wilson. All seven count against the 53-man limit. Some could return this week. Starting cornerback Marcus Trufant does not count against the 53-man limit while he remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

Carrying injured players on the 53-man roster hurts depth on game day while affecting the flexibility teams have in deciding how to practice.

The Cardinals and 49ers are relatively healthy. Rookie Cody Brown is Arizona's only projected contributor on injured reserve. The team's other injured players, notably receiver Steve Breaston, have managed to keep playing. The 49ers are without running back Frank Gore for an estimated three weeks, but their injury list is relatively short. Cornerback Walt Harris is the 49ers' only projected contributor on injured reserve.

Quite a few Seahawks fans have asked whether the team's strength-and-conditioning staff is at least partly responsible for another injury-depleted season. I do not know how to answer that question. Could training regimens be to blame? Sure, but it's impossible to know on a case-by-case basis.