Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Jets: Chad Pennington sounds optimistic about his chances of returning this weekend. Pennington, who has missed the past three weeks with a strained right rotator cuff, is questionable for the game Sunday against Houston. He will share snaps with Quincy Carter during practice this week before determining whether he can play. Whether coach Herman Edwards agrees could be the deciding factor. Pennington started throwing last week for the first time since getting hurt Nov. 7 at Buffalo at the end of a scramble. Before a 13-3 win over Arizona on Sunday, he threw 50 passes with full velocity, ranging from short ones to 40-45 yarders.
Bears: Jeff George (right) signed a one-year deal with Monday, returning to the NFL after a three-year absence. George will be the backup to Chad Hutchinson, who will make his first start in two years against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Cardinals: Arizona is turning to yet another quarterback, this time rookie John Navarre. The seventh-round draft pick from Michigan, who never has taken a snap in an NFL regular season game, will make his debut Sunday when the Cardinals visit Detroit. Coach Dennis Green announced the move Monday, benching Shaun King after two starts and going with Navarre over Josh McCown, who had the job for the first nine games. Green said McCown would be the backup, with King demoted to third string after the Cardinals (4-7) scored just 13 points in his two starts.
Broncos: Cornerback Lenny Walls was lost for the season after he dislocated his shoulder for the third time in the last 10 weeks. Walls, who hurt himself Sunday in Denver's 25-24 loss to Oakland, will have surgery and be placed on injured reserve.
Vikings: Onterrio Smith (above), not former Pro Bowler Michael Bennett, will be the starting running back for now. Smith, in his second year out of Oregon, racked up 421 combined yards in the Vikings' first three games before serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He had a season-high 20 carries for 72 yards in Sunday's 27-16 win over Jacksonville. Bennett, a starter in four of the Vikings' previous five games, was in for a handful of plays Sunday and didn't carry the ball. He has gained just 89 yards on 27 carries since returning from a sprained knee Oct. 24.
Colts: Starting center Jeff Saturday injured a tendon in his right calf and is expected to miss three to four weeks. Rick DeMulling will likely slide over from left guard to replace Saturday. The Colts played the last two weeks without their two starting guards, DeMulling and Tupe Peko, and Indianapolis is again revising its plans to replace Saturday, who has started 75 straight games at center before going down in the third quarter of Thursday's rout of Detroit.
Bills: Travis Henry might not have broken a bone in his right leg, as first feared, according to coach Mike Mularkey. The team is conducting further tests on the running back and should have a more definitive diagnosis when the Bills return to practice Wednesday.
Titans: Tennessee officially ended safety Tank Williams' season by placing him and rookie safety Justin Sandy on injured reserve, allowing them to activate defensive end Bo Schobel and cornerback Tony Beckham off the physically unable to perform list. Beckham tore his right ACL in April, while Schobel broke a bone in his right foot in June.
Giants: Defensive end Chuck Wiley will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Wiley, who was signed earlier this month after Michael Strahan and Keith Washington were lost for the season with injuries, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Sunday's game against Philadelphia. Defensive tackle Norman Hand had an MRI on Monday to examine the extent of a groin injury.
Falcons: Alge Crumpler signed a new six-year contract worth about $26 million. It includes a $9 million signing bonus, one of the biggest in franchise history and on par with the deal signed two years ago by Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez, whose seven-year, $31.5 million contract included $10 million in guaranteed money.
Bengals: Cornerback Rashad Bauman was placed on injured reserve and defensive lineman Greg Scott was promoted from the practice squad. He became the 14th Bengals player to go on an injury list this season.
Associated Press