NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Jaguars: Running back Fred Taylor had an MRI on his left knee Monday, but coach Jack Del Rio called it a "precautionary measure." Results were not expected until today at the earliest. Taylor had a season-high 165 yards rushing and a touchdown in a 28-25 victory over Green Bay on Sunday. He injured his knee late in the second half, but returned to the game.
Bengals: Carson Palmer's sprained left knee was better, leaving the quarterback hopeful he'll play against the Giants. Palmer had to sit out a 33-17 loss to Buffalo on Sunday that eliminated Cincinnati (6-8) from playoff contention. The knee felt good enough after his workout Monday that he assumed he would be back in the lineup for their final home game.
Titans: Running back Chris Brown will sit out the final two games to heal his aching left foot. Brown visited a specialist on Friday, and the doctor said wearing a walking boot for a month would settle down the joint in Brown's left big toe. Coach Jeff Fisher said surgery is not a possibility. The second-year running back will wind up missing five games this season, and he played only a half in three other games. But he still leads the Titans with 1,067 yards rushing, which ranked eighth in the AFC.
Redskins: Patrick Ramsey has already won next season's quarterbacks competition. Coach Joe Gibbs said Monday that Ramsey will be his 2005 starter, and he expects Mark Brunell to remain with the team as a high-priced backup. Ramsey has completed 65 percent of his passes, with five touchdowns and three interceptions and an 83.3 rating, in five starts since replacing Brunell.
Seahawks: Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is expected to play when Arizona visits next weekend, though his sore throwing elbow will require treatment and he's not expected to practice until Wednesday. "The scan they did today revealed no cracks or breaks or tears," coach Mike Holmgren said Monday. Hasselbeck's right arm went numb after he was sacked by Shaun Ellis during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 37-14 loss to the New York Jets. Hasselbeck completed 22 of 30 passes for 201 yards and two TDs, but was sacked three times.
Dolphins: The arbitrator who ruled Ricky Williams owes Miami $8.6 million for breach of contract disregarded Florida and Louisiana law, his attorneys said in asking that the award be set aside. In the papers filed Friday by Miami attorney Edward Soto in federal court, Williams contends that arbitrator Richard Bloch "made no attempt to determine whether the stipulated damage amounts bore any reasonable relationship suffered by the Dolphins as a result of Williams' retirement." Bloch ruled in September that the running back owes the Dolphins $8,616,353 for the breach of contract -- a figure Williams says represents about 140 percent of the money Miami paid him during two seasons, and about 52 percent of the total salary he received in his career with the Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
Also, the Dolphins interviewed former Oakland Raiders coach Art Shell on Monday. Shell, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle, became the NFL's first black coach of the modern era in 1989 with the Raiders. Dolphins interim coach Jim Bates, whose team played New England on Monday night, was expected to interview today. The favorite for the job remains LSU coach Nick Saban, who interviewed last Tuesday in Baton Rouge, La.
Jaguars: Coach Jack Del Rio defended hard-hitting safety Donovin Darius on Monday, saying he never intended to hurt Robert Ferguson with a clothesline tackle that put the Green Bay receiver in the hospital. Del Rio also said he expected Darius to be fined but not suspended for the shot that temporarily paralyzed Ferguson and knocked him unconscious Sunday. "It was a nasty shot, but I don't believe his intent was to headhunt the guy," Del Rio said.
Associated Press