The Rams are headed overseas next season.
League sources told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday night that the team will play an AFC foe â€" believed to be the New England Patriots â€" during the 2012 regular season in London.
London, of course, is the home of Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s Arsenal soccer team of the English Premier League.
The NFL games in London usually are played around mid-season. And with the exception of this season, when Chicago played Tampa Bay, all of the previous matchups have featured an NFC team vs. an AFC club.
The 2012 game will be a Rams "home" contest, meaning they will play only seven games next season in the Edward Jones Dome.
It is also believed that this could be a multi-year arrangement with the Rams, not unlike the Buffalo Bills playing in Toronto.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in October that he had been talking to several teams about becoming regulars in London to help build an overseas following.
Such a development, Goodell said then, would be "very powerful and lead us to what we ultimately would like to do â€" have a franchise here in London."
Tampa Bay, owned by the Glazer family, has played in London two times in the past three seasons. The Glazers also own Manchester United of the Premier League.
The NFL began playing regular-season games in London in 2007, so this will be the sixth such contest played at Wembley Stadium, which seats 82,000.
 The NFL has committed to play at least one regular-season contest there through 2016.
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