Just two days after he lost his spot on the depth chart, St. Louis quarterback Joe Germaine lost his spot on the roster with the Rams dealing the third-year veteran to the Kansas City Chiefs.

	Martin

	Germaine

To replace Germaine, the Rams quickly agreed to terms with journeyman backup Jamie Martin, who will begin his third stint with the franchise. Martin, who was released Sunday by the Jacksonville Jaguars, will sign a two-year contract. Financial terms were not immediately available, but Martin will have a base salary of $477,000 for this season.

With the addition of Germaine, the Chiefs on Monday afternoon released veteran backup Bubby Brister.

Coach Mike Martz was so upset with Germaine's uninspiring performance in the Friday night preseason finale against Kansas City that he yanked him after just three series and replaced him with first-year pro Marc Bulger. After the game, Martz announced Bulger had supplanted Germaine as the No. 2 quarterback behind starter Kurt Warner.

In exchange for Germaine, the Chiefs sent a sixth-round pick in the 2002 draft to St. Louis.

The Rams traded Trent Green to the Chiefs on the eve of this year's draft, in part because Martz was convinced Germaine was ready to step into the primary backup role. But the former Ohio State standout struggled throughout camp and preseason, and Friday night was the last straw.

"This is the best thing for everyone," Martz said of the shakeup. "It helps the Chiefs with their backup situation. It helps (Germaine), because he gets a fresh start, and he definitely is a talented guy. And it shores up our situation with a guy we know very well."

Germaine apparently was stunned by the spiral that sent him packing.

Martin, 31, previously played for the Rams 1993-94, while they were in Los Angeles, and again 1995-96, after they moved to St. Louis. Martz was on the Rams' staff each of those years and also coached Martin in Washington for the final month of the '97 season.

Once the veteran quarterback appeared on the NFL's waiver wire, the Rams wasted little time in phoning agent Jack Mills and consummating an agreement. A player who always seems to move the team when provided field time, Martin has appeared in 18 games and started one in his career. He has completed 72 of 112 passes for 903 yards, with seven touchdown passes, three interceptions and a 98.9 passer rating.

Although he is familiar with the St. Louis offense, Martin probably will be the team's No. 3 quarterback on Sunday, when the team opens the regular season at Philadelphia. Bulger, who spent his 2000 rookie season on the practice squads of three different teams, will remain in the No. 2 spot for at least this week.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.