National Football League

Monday NFL Week 3 Buzz Blog

Published Sep. 27, 2010 4:33 p.m. ET

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September 28 News and Notes

Buccaneers sign TE off practice squad — 10:40 a.m.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who moved seventh-round pick Erik Lorig from defensive end to tight end recently, signed him off their practice squad, a source confirmed.

The rookie was waived by Tampa Bay on Sept. 14, but was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 16.

Lorig is now the fourth tight end on Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster.

— Adam Caplan

Dolphins lose DT for one game — 10:12 a.m.

Miami Dolphins backup DT Tony McDaniel has been suspended one game by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension will start immediately, so McDaniel will miss Monday night’s game at home against the New England Patriots.

The suspension is tied to McDaniel’s arrest stemming from a domestic violence charge in February.

McDaniel was acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars in March for a seventh-round pick.

— Adam Caplan

Rams make roster adjustments — 10:12 a.m.

The St. Louis Rams, who lost rookie Dominque Curry for the season due to a torn ACL, placed the receiver on injured reserve.

Even with Curry gone, the Rams still have five receivers on their 53-man roster.

In addition, the Rams waived seventh-round pick CB Marquis Johnson. With Johnson off the roster, the Rams are down to just four cornerbacks.

— Adam Caplan

Patriots work out two QBs — 10:01 a.m.

The New England Patriots worked out three players on Monday, a source confirmed.

The team worked out rookie QBs Levi Brown and Tim Hiller, along with WR Aaron Boyce. Hiller and Boyce are undrafted free-agents. The Patriots currently have one spot open on their practice squad.

The Buffalo Bills are expected to sign Brown on Tuesday, a source confirmed. Brown is expected to take the place on the 53-man roster of QB Trent Edwards, who was waived on Monday.

Brown, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Bills, was waived on Sept. 4. He's also had workouts for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers in recent weeks.

In addition, the Patriots waived undrafted free-agent OT Steve Maneri, who was claimed off waivers from the Houston Texans on Sept. 5. He originally signed with Houston as a rookie free agent on May 7. Maneri was inactive for the first three games of the season for the Patriots.

— Adam Caplan

September 27 News and Notes

Cardinals re-sign WR — 9:19 p.m.

The Arizona Cardinals have re-signed WR Onrea Jones. To make room for Jones, the team waived undrafted free-agent CB A.J. Jefferson.

Jones (6-0, 202) spent the preseason with the Cardinals until being waived in the team’s final roster cut on September 3. He was on the Cardinals practice squad the past two seasons after originally signing with the team on September 1, 2008. He entered the NFL with the Houston Texans as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2007 out of Hampton and spent his rookie season on the practice squads of the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

With Jones now on Arizona’s roster, the team is now carrying seven receivers. However, No. 3 WR Early Doucet (groin) could miss several more weeks. Starting WR Steve Breaston (knee) was listed on the injury report last week.

Additionally, the team released RB Ian Johnson off their practice squad.

— Adam Caplan

Chiefs coach has emergency surgery — 7:37 p.m.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis had emergency gall bladder surgery Monday morning, the Kansas City Star reported. Weis admitted himself into a Kansas City area hospital and is expected to be released Tuesday, Weis’ agent, Bob Lamonte, told the paper.

LaMonte said that Weis began suffering with an infected gall bladder on Friday.

Gall bladder surgery, or a cholecystectomy, will typically help clear up the digestive track.

Weis was named the Chiefs' offensive coordinator in January. The Chiefs, who are 3-0, are on a bye this week.

— Adam Caplan

Bears’ Harris inactive — 7:27 p.m.

In a surprise, the Chicago Bears named starting DT Tommie Harris as one of their eight inactives for tonight’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Harris will not play the team said because of a coach’s decision.

Starting OLT Chris Williams (hamstring) is also out. Starting RT Frank Omiyale will move to LT to start for Williams. Veteran OT Kevin Shaffer will start at RT.

In addition, key backup WR Devin Aromashodu is inactive. He was relegated to mostly a special teams role during last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

For the Packers, they will be without starting OLB Brad Jones (knee). He’ll be replaced by undrafted free-agent rookie OLB Frank Zombo.

— Adam Caplan

One-game suspension for Dolphins' McDaniel — 4:44 p.m.

Miami Dolphins reserve defensive tackle Tony McDaniel has been suspended one game without pay for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

He'll miss next Monday's game against New England.

McDaniel was arrested on a charge of domestic violence in February. Police said he got into an early-morning fight with his girlfriend at his home.

McDaniel has three tackles in three games for Miami, all as a substitute. He'll be eligible to return to the active roster Oct. 5, the NFL said Monday.

— The Associated Press

Rams' Jackson says injury is only a strain — 4:39 p.m.

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson has a groin strain and his availability is day-to-day.

The two-time Pro Bowler broke the news on his Twitter feed after undergoing an MRI exam on Monday, and tweeted that he'd already had two hours of rehab treatment a day after the Rams' 30-16 win over Washington.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said he'd leave it up to Jackson and team trainers whether he would be able to bounce back and play this week at home against the Seahawks.

''Steven's a warrior and you almost have to pull him back,'' Spagnuolo said. ''What you don't want to do is get him out there too soon and set him back. We're all happy it wasn't anything worse and now it's just a matter of treatments and making sure we don't make it any worse.''

The most serious injury from the Redskins game was to wide receiver Dominique Curry, who'll undergo surgery for torn ligaments on his right knee and will be placed on injured reserve. Curry was one of the team's top special teams players and blocked a punt Sunday before feeling something pop in the knee while making a cut.

''He was really coming on,'' Spagnuolo said. ''He had done a lot of good things.''

Spagnuolo said safety Oshiomoghe Atogwe, the defensive captain, aggravated a thigh injury and might be a question mark. Atogwe missed the second half.

The other starting safety, Craig Dahl, could return to practice on a non-contact basis Wednesday. Dahl missed the Redskins game with a concussion.

Jackson scored on a 42-yard run for the game's first touchdown and finished with 58 yards on 10 carries.

He was hurt in the second quarter of Sunday's win, which snapped the Rams' 14-game home losing streak. He was gang-tackled on a carry and replays showed a Washington player yanking one of Jackson's legs.

''He's sore, and he would be because you can see on the film,'' Spagnuolo said.

Backups Kenneth Darby and Keith Toston filled the void. Darby scored on a 12-yard run for his first career touchdown and the pair combined for 71 yards on 25 carries. Spagnuolo said Toston played through a minor shoulder injury.

''Real solid,'' Spagnuolo said. ''You're talking about guys who hadn't gotten a lot of reps in the course of the week.''

The Rams are likely to shop for a more experienced backup, but Spagnuolo said he'd be happy going with that duo again if Jackson's not ready.

''Based on yesterday, yeah, how could I not be?'' Spagnuolo said.

— The Associated Press

Ray Rice's knee injury not too serious — 4:23 p.m.

The Baltimore Ravens got some good news in regard to starting RB Ray Rice’s knee injury. Rice apparently did not suffer a significant injury during Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, according to head coach John Harbaugh.

But Harbaugh said MRI results showed Rice suffered a significant knee contusion during Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns. Harbaugh added there’s a chance that Rice will not be able to play at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

A contusion is generally known as a bruise. That injury could be as minor as day-to-day, or could last as long as two to three weeks, depending on how quickly the bruising reduces.

If Rice is unable to play, veteran RB Willis McGahee would start.

— Adam Caplan

Jags make a slew of moves — 3:54 p.m.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a bunch of roster moves on Monday.

They re-signed S Gerald Alexander, who was released by the Jaguars on Sept. 4. Alexander worked out for the Green Bay Packers last week. Alexander could get a chance to start in the coming weeks.

The Jaguars also released veteran TE Ernest Wilford, who signed with the team on Sept. 16, and waived CB Michael Coe.

In addition, the team released QB Brett Ratliff from the practice squad. The Jaguars currently have just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, and no quarterbacks on the practice squad.

— Adam Caplan

Rams RB Jackson tweets MRI results — 2:34 p.m.

St. Louis Rams starting RB Steven Jackson had an MRI test taken on his injured groin Monday morning. The results showed a strain, Jackson said via his twitter account.

Jackson was injured during the first half of Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins and didn’t return to the game. He was replaced by backup RB Ken Darby. Jackson came into the Washington game nursing a knee issue.

Jackson’s status for Sunday’s game at home against the Seattle Seahawks isn’t exactly clear. The team had free-agent RB Kevin Jones in for a visit last week, but he wound up signing with the UFL’s Hartford Colonials over the weekend.

— Adam Caplan

Bears add OL — 1:26 p.m.

The Chicago Bears have signed G/C Edwin Williams from their practice squad to the 53-man roster and waived G Johan Asiata. Williams will be available for tonight’s home game against the Green Bay Packers.

The Bears claimed Williams off of waivers on Sept. 1. He was an undrafted free agent of the Redskins in 2009 and appeared in four games for Washington, starting two contests at right guard.

Collegiately, the 6-3, 313-pound Williams started in the final 49 games of his career at the University of Maryland (2005-08), including starts in the final 39 contests at center.

— Adam Caplan

Bills release QB Edwards — 12:32 p.m.

The Buffalo Bills announced that they have released QB Trent Edwards. Edwards, because he’s not a vested veteran, will actually be waived, so he will be eligible to be claimed off waivers on Tuesday provided the team submits the transaction to the NFL personnel office on Monday by 4:00 p.m. ET.

Edwards, who was selected in the second-round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Bills, was on the final year of his rookie deal. He was carrying a base salary of $1.65 million for 2010.

Edwards wasn’t drafted by the current Buffalo personnel staff, so it shouldn’t come to a surprise that they released him. The Bills have just two quarterbacks left on their 53-man roster after the move to jettison Edwards. A player source said the Bills have interest in re-signing seventh-round pick Levi Brown in time for Wednesday’s practice. The rookie would be signed to Buffalo’s 53-man roster. Brown worked out for the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers recently. He was waived by the Bills on Sept. 4.

Ryan Fitzpatrick took over as the starting quarterback last week. Fitzpatrick is signed through 2011. He’s listed with a $2.365 million base salary for 2010.

— Adam Caplan

Veteran RB signs with UFL — 12:13 p.m.

Veteran RB Kevin Jones has signed with the Hartford Colonials of the UFL.

Jones, who visited with the St. Louis Rams last week, signed with Hartford over the past weekend.

Jones, who was selected in the first-round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears. He missed all of his season with Chicago due to a broken ankle. Chicago released him in early March.

— Adam Caplan

Colts rookie LB fractures foot — 11:56 a.m.

Indianapolis Colts rookie LB Kavell Conner suffered a broken bone in his left foot during the first quarter of Sunday’s win at the Denver Broncos, a source confirmed.

Conner, who started his second straight game in place of injured WLB Clint Session (hamstring), will have the injury evaluated further today, the source added. Backup LB Cody Glenn replaced Conner. The Colts only dressed five linebackers for the game.

Conner was selected in the seventh-round by the Colts.

— Adam Caplan

Veteran punter to work out for Redskins — 11:47 a.m.

The Washington Redskins are expected to work out free-agent P Hunter Smith on Tuesday, a source confirmed.

P Josh Bidwell suffered an injured hip in pregame warmups prior to Sunday’s game at the St. Louis Rams. K Graham Gano handled the punting duties for Bidwell in the game.

Smith, 33, played in 13 games last season for the Redskins. He spent the prior 10 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

— Adam Caplan

49ers fire offensive coordinator — 11:19 a.m.

The San Francisco 49ers have fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, NFL.com reported. Raye was in his second season with the 49ers. The team is promoting quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson to the offensive coordinator role.

Raye came under fire this season for his inability to develop a passing game. The 49ers have scored the least amount of points (38) in the NFL this season.

Johnson joined the 49ers last season and has worked closely with starting QB Alex Smith. Johnson has been long-time quarterbacks coach in the league, but has very limited play calling experience at the NFL level.

One of the main reasons why Smith has not developed as much as the team would have liked to this point is because of the lack of stability at the offensive coordinator position. Smith will now be working with his sixth offensive coordinator since he was selected with the first overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft.

— Adam Caplan

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