Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Jets: Curtis Martin will miss at least the first six weeks of the season. It could be the end of the 33-year-old running back's career. The NFL's No. 4 career rusher, who underwent knee surgery last December, was placed on the regular-season physically-unable-to-perform list. That means he will miss the first six weeks and the team will have 21 days to decide whether to activate him. The Jets also announced that Chad Pennington is their starting quarterback. Pennington, who has undergone shoulder surgery for two straight years, had been the starting QB throughout the preseason.
Cowboys: Terrell Owens practiced for the first time in 10 days, an indication he's getting over his hamstring injury and is heading toward his team debut. Neither Owens nor coach Bill Parcells were available for comment after a team spokesman announced that Owens participated in an afternoon workout that was closed to reporters.
Bills: J.P. Losman will start the season at quarterback after beating out Kelly Holcomb and newcomer Craig Nall. Losman began last season as the starter, but was 1-3 and was replaced by Holcomb. He got the job back when Holcomb was injured. Losman is 37-of-57 for 462 yards passing in three exhibitions with two touchdowns, two interceptions.
Titans: Predictably, Billy Volek isn't happy about the signing of Kerry Collins. Collins practiced for the first time since signing a one-year deal Monday. A six-year veteran, Volek was given the starting job over top draft pick Vince Young after Steve McNair was traded in June.
Eagles: Fifth-round draft pick and former Olympian Jeremy Bloom went on injured reserve after he missed most of training camp with an injured hamstring.
Jaguars: Offensive tackle Mike Williams was placed on injured reserve. Williams signed a two-year contract that included a $1.4 million signing bonus in March, giving the Jags some depth along the line. For Williams, it was a chance to start over after four tumultuous years with Buffalo; he was the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft. But the 6-6, 363-pound Texan missed most of training camp with a sore back, the same injury that caused him to sit out part of last season.
Dolphins: Offensive lineman Seth McKinney was placed on injured reserve, while quarterback Brock Berlin and 13 others were waived. McKinney underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a neck disc and was hopeful of returning by early November.
Giants: QB Rob Johnson, who missed two seasons with an elbow injury, was released.
Texans: Domanick Davis doesn't know when his injured left knee will be healthy enough for him to return to the field. Houston's top rusher for the past three seasons has been out for a month with a bone bruise that is causing soreness in his knee. He said it has been frustrating and surprising that the injury has kept him out this long.
Broncos: DT Gerard Warren was in a jovial mood as he gingerly walked off the practice field. The dislocated left big toe was still bothering him, but he wanted to give it a test run. It passed inspection. The last time the Broncos saw Warren on the practice field he was lying on the ground, screaming in pain. He injured the toe on Aug. 5 when rookie running back Mike Bell tried to find an opening in the defense during a goal-line drill and someone either stepped on or fell on Warren.
49ers: Veteran quarterback Jesse Palmer was released to make room for Gibran Hamdan, the NFL Europe MVP this spring. Palmer had fallen behind Shaun Hill for the team's No. 3 quarterback role behind starter Alex Smith and backup Trent Dilfer.
Associated Press
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