NFL ROUNDUP News and notes

Dolphins: Receiver David Boston pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges of assaulting a ticket agent at the Burlington (Vt.) International Airport in October. Boston, who was charged with simple assault, did not appear in court. His lawyer entered the plea for Boston. The player, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury, is reportedly appealing a four-game suspension by the NFL after testing positive for steroids. Boston is accused of striking a US Airways customer service agent in the face after he refused to let him board a plane. According to a court papers, Boston told police that Ed Gorchinski had caused him to miss his flight and had spit in his face. Gorchinski said the flight was running late and he had urged Boston to hurry to the plane but Boston took his time. Gorchinski then refused to let Boston board the plane, court papers said. Boston had been rehabilitating in Vermont, where he had had knee surgery. The Cardinals' first draft choice in 1999, Boston's best season was 2001, when he had 98 receptions for 1,598 yards and eight touchdowns.
Texans: Safety Marcus Coleman will miss the rest of the season with a right shoulder injury. Coleman sprained his shoulder against Green Bay on Nov. 21, but continued to play. He had eight tackles in Houston's 29-7 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. On Tuesday, Coleman became the second Texans defensive starter placed on injured reserve this week. Inside linebacker Jay Foreman is out for the year with a sprained ankle. The loss of the two players is costly for the Texans (5-7), who have dropped four of the past five games and face Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Coleman, a nine-year veteran, made a relatively smooth transition from cornerback to safety in the offseason to make room for rookie cornerback Dunta Robinson. He finished the year with 79 tackles and two interceptions. To fill Coleman's spot, the Texans promoted rookie safety Jammal Lord from their practice squad to the 53-man roster. Lord moved to safety after being drafted in the sixth-round out of Nebraska, where he was a quarterback.
Broncos: Backup receiver Nate Jackson was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after he broke his ankle in last weekend's loss to the Chargers. Jackson caught eight passes for 73 yards this season. He also made five tackles on special teams. His loss will likely move rookie Triandos Luke up on the depth chart.
Bears: Quarterback Craig Krenzel went on injured reserve Tuesday with an ankle injury and will miss the rest of the season. Chad Hutchinson replaced the injured Krenzel as the starter last week, leading the Bears (5-7) to a 24-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Krenzel was 5-of-10 for 46 yards when he said someone fell on him at the end of a 2-yard run in the second quarter of the Nov. 25 game against Dallas. Jonathan Quinn took over and completed 10-of-21 passes for 86 yards with two interceptions as the Bears lost 21-7. Krenzel, a fifth-round pick from Ohio State, finishes his rookie season at 59-of-127 for 718 yards, with three touchdown passes and six interceptions. He was sacked 23 times.
Associated Press