NFL camp roundup
Cowher, Steelers stop negotiationg contract extension … for now Bill Cowher is no longer negotiating a contract extension with the Steelers, making this the first time since he was hired in 1992 that he’ll start the season with only two years left on his deal to coach Pittsburgh.
The team wants to renew talks with Cowher at season’s end, but announced Tuesday it wants Cowher to focus on coaching the returning Super Bowl champions for now. Pittsburgh has a long-standing policy of not negotiating contracts during the season.
Cowher, whose current deal runs through 2007, has been talking with the Steelers about an extension since shortly after the Steelers won the Super Bowl in February.
Cowher said several times during the offseason he prefers not to work on a year-to-year basis, a stance he adopted following the Steelers’ 6-10 season in 2003 after winning 23 games the previous two.
Though Cowher is only 49, he is beginning his 15th season in Pittsburgh and is the NFL’s most tenured coach with a single team. The Steelers have had only two coaches since 1969: Cowher and four-time Super Bowl champion Chuck Noll.
“I remain optimistic and hopeful that we will be able to conclude a contract extension which will keep Bill coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers for many more years,” team president Art Rooney II said. “However, we have all agreed that at this time we will continue those conversations after this season so that Bill’s focus, and the focus of the entire organization can be on the excitement and challenge of defending the Super Bowl championship.”
Cowher’s decision to not sign an extension has created speculation he may retire at the end of the season, with the possibility of returning elsewhere as an NFL coach in a few years.
Jets-Browns
Running back Lee Suggs failed his physical with New York on Tuesday, voiding his trade from Cleveland.
Suggs, who has had a myriad of injuries throughout his four-year career, was brought in to help bolster the group of backs struggling without the injured Curtis Martin. Now, he is headed back to the Browns. Cornerback Derrick Strait, who was sent to Cleveland in the deal made Monday, returns to New York.
“We have a whole series of tests that we do, and we were very thorough with the process,” Jets coach Eric Mangini said. “He just didn’t pass those tests.”
But the Browns disputed the Jets’ findings. Browns general manager Phil Savage noted that while Suggs has been injury prone, he hasn’t missed any practice time this year and played in the first preseason game.
“Medical opinions can vary from team to team, and obviously this is one team’s opinion,” Savage said. “We anticipate Lee Suggs returning to the Browns and working hard in practice and preparing for the season to the best of his ability.”
Vikings
Rookie linebacker Chad Greenway, Minnesota’s first-round draft pick, is out for the season, the result of a knee injury he sustained in Minnesota’s first exhibition game.
Greenway was hurt covering a kickoff in Monday night’s 16-13 loss to the Raiders. He had an MRI test Tuesday morning.
In a prepared statement, coach Brad Childress said he was confident Greenway would be “completely healthy for the 2007 season.”
While he has been the backup weakside linebacker to E.J. Henderson, Greenway was destined for a significant role in the defense, especially on passing downs. He was hurt playing special teams.
Chargers
Kick returner Darren Sproles will miss the season with a broken left leg. Sproles was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, a day after having surgery on his fractured fibula.
“That’s not good news, but that’s the way it goes,” general manager A.J. Smith said. “The time frame was too much, three to four months. When you look at it, it just doesn’t make sense right now to bring him back. He should have a full recovery.”
Wide receiver Vincent Jackson has been hospitalized since Saturday night with a bruised chest.
Jackson, who caught three passes for 59 yards as a rookie last year, is being penciled in as the No. 3 receiver behind Keenan McCardell and Eric Parker.
The Chargers also waived defensive back Raymond Walls.
Panthers
All-Pro wide receiver Steve Smith looked sharp in his return to practice after missing more than two weeks with a strained hamstring.
Smith caught three consecutive passes, including a deep throw down the middle, at one point in morning practice.
Smith, who led the NFL with 1,563 yards receiving last season and helped the Panthers reach the NFC championship, showed no sign the hamstring still bothered him.
“When he comes out to practice or to play, that is what makes him great – that competitive drive inside that he wants to be the best,” quarterback Jake Delhomme said.
Smith finished tied for the league lead in receptions (103) and touchdown catches (12).
Colts
Kicker Adam Vinatieri, the Indianapolis Colts’ biggest offseason acquisition, missed Tuesday morning’s practice with a sprained left ankle.
Coach Tony Dungy said Vinatieri hurt his ankle while running Monday, the same day the Colts cut Shane Andrus, the only other kicker on the roster.
Indianapolis signed Vinatieri, considered the NFL’s best clutch kicker, to a five-year, $12 million contract in March to replace Mike Vanderjagt. Vinatieri had two Super Bowl-winning field goals with New England.
Redskins
Cornerback Shawn Springs underwent surgery Tuesday to repair to a muscle tear in his lower abdomen and is expected to be sidelined three to six weeks. The surgery repaired a minor tear in an abdominal muscle that attaches to the pelvis.
The injury rules out Springs for the rest of the preseason and could cause him to miss the opening weeks of the regular season. The Redskins open Sept. 11 against Minnesota.
Aware of Springs’ ailment, the Redskins acquired Mike Rumph from San Francisco on Monday. Springs and Carlos Rogers have been the team’s projected starters. Kenny Wright, who struggled in Sunday’s preseason game at Cincinnati, has been the nickel back.
The 10th-year veteran has started 30 of 32 regular season games since joining the team as a free agent from Seattle in 2004.
Cardinals
Matt Leinart reported to camp after his long holdout and found out he’ll be playing Saturday night at New England.
“My dream has been to play in the NFL,” he said. “What better way to kick off an NFL career – whether it’s one play or a couple of series – than against the Patriots.”
Late Monday night, Leinart signed a six-year contract that guarantees the former Heisman Trophy winner $14 million. Leinart, who could earn as much as $51 million, is the last first-round draft pick to sign.
Bengals
Cincinnati waived defensive tackle Matthias Askew, one of five Bengals accused of breaking the law in the past three months.
A 2004 fourth-round draft choice out of Michigan State, Askew has been plagued by injuries.
“He wasn’t going to make our football team at this point,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “It’s an opportunity for Matthias to catch on with another team. Other guys were playing better.”
Askew was charged last month with resisting arrest, obstructing official business and two parking violations. Cincinnati police said a dispute broke out over his illegally parked car, and the 6-foot-5, 302-pound lineman struggled with officers trying to handcuff him and broke away before being shocked with a stun gun.
Askew, the first of the Bengals with legal problems to be cut, pleaded not guilty and his attorney said police overreacted.
Lions
Charles Rogers, the struggling Lions receiver, sat on a stationary bike, watching practice.
Rogers, the second pick in the 2003 draft, sat out both workouts Tuesday with a sore knee, the latest in a long list of setbacks since he joined the team.
The wide receiver missed most of his first two seasons with broken collarbones, catching a total of 22 passes, then saw his 2005 season unravel when he was suspended by the NFL for violating the substance-abuse program.
“I still have that ability,” Rogers said Tuesday. “I can still stretch a defense, and I’ve still got the speed. I’m still the guy who was the No. 2 pick.”
Bills
Running back Fred Jackson was carted off the field after hurting his right knee late in practice Tuesday.
Coach Dick Jauron didn’t have an immediate update on the status of Jackson, an undrafted rookie from Coe College. Coe is the alma mater of Buffalo’s general manager, Marv Levy.
Jackson was hurt when his right foot appeared to get caught in the turf shortly after taking a handoff. Jackson had three carries for 12 yards in Buffalo’s 14-13 loss to Carolina on Saturday.