NFL ROUNDUP | News and notes

Panthers: Receiver Steve Smith apologized for his costly personal foul for kicking a Houston player late in Sunday's loss to Houston. With just over six minutes to play, Carolina had the ball on the Texans 38 when Jake Delhomme dumped it off to Smith for a 7-yard gain. Smith was tackled by Jerry Deloach, who fell on him and made no attempt to quickly climb off Smith's leg. Smith drew the penalty after giving Deloach a swift kick in the back with his free leg. Carolina ultimately had to punt and never got the ball back again.
Colts: Safety Idrees Bashir is expected to miss Sunday's game at Jacksonville with a dislocated right shoulder. Coach Tony Dungy said Bashir will miss "a couple weeks at least" with the injury. He hurt the shoulder while trying to tackle Miami running back Ricky Williams during Sunday's 23-17 victory. Bashir has started 37 of 40 games in his career.
Jaguars: Center Brad Meester was signed to a five-year contract extension on Monday worth $13 million. The extension includes a $3.5 million signing bonus, and it could keep the fourth-year lineman under contract through 2008. Meester was a second-round draft pick out of Northern Iowa in 2000, and has started all 56 games since he entered the league. The first three years he played mostly at guard, and this season he moved to center.
Dolphins: A day after rookie left tackle Wade Smith gave up three sacks to Dwight Freeney in a 23-17 loss to Indianapolis, Miami worked out two free agent tackles. They also have seven-time Pro Bowler Richmond Webb scheduled for a workout today.
Bengals: Jeff Burris was to meet with doctors today to find out whether his latest concussion will keep him out of the lineup. The 10th-year cornerback suffered a mild concussion Sunday when he tackled a kick returner during a 17-14 loss in Arizona. It was his second concussion in four weeks -- he also was knocked unconscious during a game in Buffalo. Burris had an MRI test Monday and planned to meet with doctors to discuss the ramifications. He's had five concussions in his career, four in the last three years.
Chargers: A quarterback controversy on a team that's 1-7 normally wouldn't generate much attention. But this one involves Doug Flutie, who's been playing pro football since 1985 and was embroiled in a divisive dispute with Rob Johnson during his three seasons with Buffalo. Will San Diego stick with struggling Drew Brees or let the energetic 41-year-old Flutie take over? Stay tuned, because coach Marty Schottenheimer isn't in any rush to say who's going start Sunday's home game against the Vikings. Flutie replaced Brees in the fourth quarter at Chicago on Sunday and at least pulled the Chargers within striking distance before San Diego lost 20-7. The possibility Flutie will be elevated was spiced up when defensive end Marcellus Wiley, who was with the Bills during the Flutie-Johnson clash, spoke out after Sunday's loss. He said it's time the Chargers went with Flutie.
Rams: Even after a 20-point loss, coach Mike Martz couldn't resist sounding off about the officiating. Martz criticized a handful of calls in Sunday's 30-10 loss to the 49ers, and also had a lengthy telephone conversation with the NFL's director of officiating, Mike Pereira, earlier in the day. At the top of his list were an offside call on a first-quarter kickoff that nullified a fumble recovery, and a roughing-the-passer call on Tyoka Jackson in the second quarter.
Redskins: A group of American Indians will appeal a decision rejecting their efforts to cancel the trademark for the team name of the Washington Redskins. Lawyers for the group, led by activist Suzan Shown Harjo, said they will try to overturn a federal judge's decision last month finding there was not enough evidence to show the NFL team's name is offensive. A panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Redskins' trademarks in 1999 on the ground the name disparages Native Americans in violation of the federal trademark law. But U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the panel relied on flawed or incomplete data. A defeat for the team could jeopardize its exclusive rights to market the Redskins name and sell merchandise worth millions.
Raiders: Quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo is doubtful for next Sunday's game against the New York Jets with a torn knee ligament. Tuiasosopo underwent an MRI exam on his injured left knee Monday. Results from the test weren't immediately available, but coach Bill Callahan said Tuiasosopo has a partially torn medial collateral ligament.