NFL roundup
Deion passes physical, joins Ravens After three seasons away from the NFL, Deion Sanders signed with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.
The seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback passed his physical and signed a one-year contract laden with incentives. He will practice with the team for the first time Wednesday, and expects to play in the Ravens’ season opener Sept. 12 against the Cleveland Browns.
Sanders, 37, played corner in his prime, but will be used as a fifth defensive back in Baltimore.
“This game is not all that complicated. We’re going to try to ingrain him as quickly as we can,” Ravens coach Brian Billick said Tuesday morning. “We have to make sure we know where he’s at physically. He’s here plenty early enough to have an impact.”
Sanders has not played since the 2000 season with the Washington Redskins. He retired on the eve of the team’s training camp in 2001, but the Ravens are convinced he’s still got enough talent to contribute to their bid to defend the AFC North title and advance to the Super Bowl.
He spent the 2002 and 2003 seasons on CBS’ NFL pregame show.
“Based on people we’ve talked to, opinions we trust, I’m sure there’s no question he’s going to be able to compete. At the level he competed before? There’s very few of us that can do things as well as we did before. At 50, I can attest to that,” Billick said. “But what he will bring to the table for us will be substantial.”
Raiders
Charles Woodson signed the Raiders’ one-year tender for $8.782 million on Tuesday, joining the team after a 33-day holdout.
“I guess it’s just been long enough,” Woodson said. “We tried our different tactics and it’s just been long enough. It’s time to get back in and get back to work.”
The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback can now begin negotiating the long-term deal he wants.
Coach Norv Turner said Monday that Woodson wouldn’t play in Thursday’s exhibition finale against St. Louis. Turner also said Woodson wouldn’t start and would play nickel back in the Raiders’ season-opener Sept. 12 at Pittsburgh.
Woodson had been working out twice a day in Houston, so the Raiders aren’t as concerned about his fitness level as they are his ability to play catch-up in new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s 3-4 scheme.
Falcons
Rookie cornerback DeAngelo Hall will miss six to 10 weeks with a small fracture on the left side of his hip.
Hall, the No. 8 overall pick and the first cornerback taken in April’s draft, had been designated as the starter on the left side three months ago by coach Jim Mora. Kevin Mathis will replace Hall night when the Falcons visit Washington on Friday night.
Hall was injured Saturday night after batting down a pass intended for Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson in the first quarter. Though he remained in the game for the next four series, Hall told trainer Ron Medlin that he was in pain and additional examination revealed the break.
Bears
Brian Urlacher’s pulled hamstring is healed and he’s back on the practice field, realizing how much he missed football and vowing to be ready for the season opener.
“I’ve never been injured, so I don’t know how to react,” Urlacher said Tuesday before his second practice session since he was hurt July 28 during the first workout of training camp. “I’m just going to do what they tell me to do and just get ready for Detroit.”
The Pro Bowl linebacker won’t play in Friday’s preseason finale at Cleveland but plans to play for sure in the Sept. 12 season opener against the Lions at Soldier Field.
Urlacher has never missed a game in his four-year NFL career. He said he once missed a game when he was a junior in high school after breaking his wrist, but he played the next week.
He pulled up during a scrimmage less than an hour into the first workout of training camp. He said he stepped awkwardly while making a play.
Bucs/Giants
Tampa Bay sent guard Jason Whittle to the Giants for an undisclosed draft choice, returning the guard to the team with which he began his career.
Whittle played for New York from 1998-2002, starting all 14 games he played his final year. He signed last March as a free agent with the Bucs, where he started five games.
The Bucs cut 15 players, including Jason Garrett, who joined them as a free agent from the Giants this year. The 38-year-old Garrett played 11 seasons in the NFL with Dallas and New York, starting nine of the 40 games in which he appeared.
The Giants also waived placekicker Bill Gramatica, brother of Bucs’ kicker Martin Gramatica. That makes Todd France New York’s kicker.
Patriots
New England released quarterback Jim Miller and placed veteran defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield on injured reserve.
Miller hadn’t played in any of the Patriots three exhibition games since signing as a free agent last month. He had played for Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Chicago and Tampa Bay before missing last season because of an injury to his right shoulder.
His departure leaves New England with Tom Brady, Rohan Davey and Kliff Kingsbury at quarterback.
Stubblefield has an ankle injury. The 1997 NFL defensive player of the year signed as a free agent on Aug. 5 after playing for Oakland last season. In 11 seasons, he also played for San Francisco and Washington.
Dolphins
David Boston was placed on injured reserve more than three weeks after the wide receiver sustained a season-ending knee injury.
Boston, acquired in the offseason, was injured Aug. 6 during a preseason workout against the Houston Texans. The Dolphins acquired Marty Booker from the Bears 10 days ago to replace him.
Broncos
Running back Mike Anderson was still coming to grips Tuesday with the fact that he is out for the season.
Anderson’s season ended last Friday when he tore both muscles in his left groin area while on the punt team with 1:56 left in a preseason game.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m still trying to come to grips with it,” Anderson said. “Right now it’s bothering me real bad. It hurts.”
When asked why a fifth-year veteran was on a punting unit with less than two minutes to go in a meaningless game, Anderson deflected the question.
“Under the circumstances we didn’t have that luxury at the time. The guys that were second and third there was a situation where they weren’t available,” Anderson said. “I was the one still available with the pads on and I went into the game to do my job.”
Anderson won’t need surgery, which should reduce the recovery period, and there is no concern about his future.
Panthers
The Panthers reached injury settlements Tuesday with wide receiver Donald Hayes and defensive tackle Rod Walker, and placed safety Damien Richardson on injured reserve.
Carolina also waived tight end James Hugo and receiver Walter Young to cut its roster to 70 players.
Hayes, a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 1998, played four seasons with Carolina, catching 132 passes for 1,855 yards and seven touchdowns in 51 games. He signed with the New England Patriots as an unrestricted free agent following the 2001 season, but came to Carolina this spring.
He injured his hamstring during training camp, preventing him from competing for a roster spot.
Cardinals
The Cardinals acquired running back Troy Hambrick and defensive end Peppi Zellner Tuesday in a trade with the Oakland Raiders.
The Cardinals gave the Raiders an undisclosed conditional 2005 draft pick, the team announced.
Hambrick entered the league with the Dallas Cowboys in 2000 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Savannah State and started all 16 games for Dallas last season.
He rushed for 972 yards and five touchdowns last year, but was released by the Cowboys May 13 and signed with the Raiders four days later.
Zellner also broke into the league with the Cowboys. He was drafted by Dallas in 1999. He spent the 1999-2002 seasons with the Cowboys. He played in 16 games for the Redskins a year ago.
Cowboys
The Cowboys released nickel cornerback Donald Mitchell and nine other players on Tuesday.
Mitchell spent last season on the injured reserve list with a sprained left ankle after four seasons in Tennessee and coach Bill Parcells said he was rooting for him to make the team.
Linebacker Markus Steele, running back Aveion Cason, receiver Cedric James, defensive end Johnathan Taylor, defensive tackles Shaun Smith and Dave Volk, punter Ryan Flinn and defensive end Darrell Lee were the others released.
Center Gennaro DiNapoli was put on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, meaning he can’t play before Oct. 24 at Green Bay.
Falcons
Receiver Terrence Edwards and defensive back Travaris Robinson were placed on waivers.
Edwards, a second-year wideout, left Georgia as the leading receiver in school history. He missed the preseason opener against Baltimore with a concussion and the last two games with a pulled groin.
The team has five days to reach monetary terms with Edwards, who will become a free agent and can sign with any NFL team other than Atlanta through the first two months of the season.
Robinson, a second-year defensive back from Auburn, faces reconstructive knee surgery after getting hurt Saturday night. The Falcons are expected to place him on season-ending injured reserve by Saturday.