NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Browns: Punter Scott Player, who has filled in for injured starter Dave Zastudil the past three weeks, was waived Monday. Defensive lineman Louis Leonard was claimed off waivers from the Rams. Player averaged 45.6 yards on 13 punts, including six inside the 20-yard-line. Zastudil has been out with a back injury but is expected to return to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.

Cardinals: Kurt Warner always wanted one more shot as an NFL starting quarterback, and now he’s got it. He’s sorry it came at Matt Leinart’s expense. With Leinart sidelined indefinitely due to a fractured left collarbone, the 36-year-old Warner has become the first-string quarterback. “This is what you want to do every time you enter a season,” Warner said. “Every time you come back to play, you want to be in there playing every snap. So I’m excited about that part of it, relatively speaking. Obviously, I’m disappointed for Matt. You never want to get this position and take over a job due to an injury.” Leinart was hurt on a sack by St. Louis linebacker Will Witherspoon in the second quarter of Arizona’s 34-31 victory Sunday. The Cardinals said Leinart was to undergo more tests Monday, and they did not know when he might return. It’s likely he’ll be out several weeks.

Jaguars: Jacksonville has found an offensive identity to go along with the defensive one established years ago. The Jaguars are sustaining drives and limiting turnovers. The combination, along with a stout defense, has given Jacksonville (3-1) its first three-game winning streak in nearly two years and a new level of confidence. “That’s our identity, that’s our face,” running back Fred Taylor said. Jacksonville may have been at its best in Sunday’s 17-7 win over the Chiefs. The Jaguars controlled the ball for nearly 37 minutes with a versatile running game featuring Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew and were 8-of-15 on third down thanks mostly to David Garrard’s precision passing. Jones-Drew ran for 82 yards, including a 52-yarder for a score, and Taylor added 51 on the ground. Garrard was 20-of-27 for 218 yards and a touchdown.

Raiders: Daunte Culpepper will start Sunday against the Chargers. “I won’t prepare any differently,” Culpepper said. “I prepare the same no matter what. It’s no different to me.” Culpepper wasn’t asked to do much in his first start, going 5-for-12 for 75 yards, but he threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more, showing that his surgically repaired knee is feeling much better after hindering him so much the past two seasons.

Titans: Chris Brown’s 3-yard touchdown run snapped a little bit of a drought for the running back in Tennessee’s 20-13 win over Atlanta. He hadn’t scored a touchdown rushing since Nov. 20, 2005, in a loss to Jacksonville, and it was his first score since a TD reception Nov. 27, 2005, against San Francisco.

Panthers: Jake Delhomme is done for the year. Delhomme will have ligament-replacement surgery on his elbow next week, leaving Carolina without its leader on offense and scrambling to find another quarterback. Originally injured two weeks ago, Delhomme didn’t show any improvement when trying to throw Monday. A day earlier he threw briefly on the side while sitting out Carolina’s win over the Saints.

Dolphins: Quarterback Trent Green sustained a concussion while blocking in Miami’s loss at Houston. His concussion was later diagnosed as grade three, the most severe, and he’ll undergo further tests to determine his future. He has been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Cleveland, and coach Cam Cameron declined to discuss the possibility the injury will force the 37-year-old Green to retire. “I don’t think we really know the full extent, because there are some ongoing tests,” Cameron said. “Right now I just think there are too many unknowns.”

Broncos: Center Tom Nalen, a 14-year veteran, is done for the season after he tore his right biceps muscle. The five-time Pro Bowler was injured in the first quarter of a 41-3 loss to San Diego Sunday, but kept playing. “We couldn’t even run inside running plays, had to run outside running plays,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “He didn’t have any strength in there. It kind of gives you an idea of what he’s made of.”

Seahawks: Fullback Mack Strong has a neck injury that will end his career. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said that Strong woke up Monday feeling tingling in his hands. After getting hit hard twice early in Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Strong felt his hand and arm going numb, Holmgren said. An examination determined he has a pinched nerve in his neck. It won’t require surgery, but Strong told reporters at Seahawks headquarters that it will end his career. The two-time Pro Bowler turned 36 this month, and has spent 15 seasons with the

Rams: Running back Steven Jackson will sit out for the third straight game Sunday at Baltimore, and quarterback Marc Bulger will rest for a second straight game. Coach Scott Linehan ruled out Jackson, who has a partially torn groin. He said Bulger, the backup behind Gus Frerotte in Sunday’s 34-31 loss to the Cardinals while nursing two broken ribs, would be available again this week for emergency duty.

Buccaneers: Michael Pittman could be sidelined up to two months with an ankle sprain that has coach Jon Gruden scrambling for experienced help at running back. Gruden said that the team was waiting for the results of an MRI exam, but that it appeared Pittman, injured during Sunday’s 33-14 loss at Indianapolis, will be out six to eight weeks.

Associated Press