NFL briefs
Panthers’ Seidman could miss rest of season CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Carolina Panthers tight end Mike Seidman has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Seidman, who had been starting, injured his knee in the win over Tampa Bay on Sept. 24, but coach John Fox claimed they didn’t know it was a torn ACL until “the last couple of days.”
Seidman is not yet on injured reserve.
“There are different options and we’re sorting those out,” Fox said Wednesday.
Kris Mangum and Michael Gaines are expected to split time at tight end.
Meanwhile, linebacker Dan Morgan will miss his fourth straight game since suffering at least the fifth concussion of his career in the opener against Atlanta. On Monday, Fox said Morgan was not considering retirement.
Center Justin Hartwig returned to practice and listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Cleveland. Hartwig has missed the past three games after suffering a pulled groin against Atlanta.
Titans
Receiver David Givens will miss Sunday’s game with the Colts because of an injured thumb. The Titans listed Givens as out on the injury report Wednesday, along with tight end Erron Kinney and starting left guard Zach Piller. Kinney has not practiced since having surgery on his left knee in the opening days of training camp. Piller missed the 45-14 loss to Dallas with a sprained right ankle.
Givens started each of the first four games since signing an offseason free agent contract with Tennessee and ranks fourth with eight receptions for 108 yards. He caught one pass for 3 yards and ran once for 3 more yards on a reverse against Dallas.
Piller’s injury means Jacob Bell should start a second straight game at left guard, with David Stewart replacing Bell at right tackle.
Chiefs
A couple of key reserves went down during practice Wednesday, further complicating an injury situation that is becoming critical.
Linebacker Rich Scanlon and offensive lineman Will Svitek both sustained knee injuries. Coach Herm Edwards said Scanlon, a valuable member of the special teams units, will get an MRI on his right knee and Svitek will have a similar procedure on his left knee.
Edwards said defensive back Benny Sapp will now be out about four to six weeks with a knee injury. A leg injury has sidelined running back Michael Bennett.
Quarterback Trent Green, as expected, will miss his third straight game with a severe concussion, although he was well enough last week to join the team on the sideline during its game against San Francisco.
In addition, left tackle Kyle Turley remained out of practice for the second straight week with a back problem.
Turley missed all of last week and was replaced by Jordan Black. Edwards did not sound optimistic that he would be ready for this week’s game at Arizona.
“He was a little bit better,” Edwards said. “If he doesn’t practice by tomorrow or the next day, he’s not going to play.”
Falcons
John Abraham, who hasn’t played since he won NFC defensive player of the week honors in his first game with Atlanta, returned to practice Wednesday.
Abraham suffered a groin injury in the Week 1 win over Carolina in which he had six tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass batted away. The Falcons, off this weekend, had their last practice of the week Wednesday, and Abraham decided the non-contact session was the perfect opportunity to test the groin.
Abraham said he hoped to play Oct. 15 game against the New York Giants.
“From today, I think so,” Abraham said. “I think I practiced well. I’m still a little stiff. I’m still a little behind, but I think I’ll be OK if I just stay here and work out and get back into the old John Abraham shape.”
Patriots
New England signed cornerback Chidi Iwuoma on Wednesday to provide depth in the injury-riddled secondary . Iwuoma was released Sept. 6 after spending the past four seasons with Pittsburgh. He was with Detroit for one season before that. Last season he was one of the special teams captains for the Steelers.
The Patriots are expected to be without starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs (broken wrist) for a second straight game Sunday against Miami. Starting safety Eugene Wilson (hamstring) missed last Sunday’s game at Cincinnati.
New England also has four defensive backs on injured reserve: safeties Tebucky Jones and Mel Mitchell, and cornerbacks Randall Gay and Gemara Williams.
Rams
Fullback Paul Smith is out this week and probably next week from injuries sustained in a wedge-busting collision that landed Smith and Detroit’s Frank Davis in a hospital.
Smith has small fractures around his eyes along with a concussion, coach Scott Linehan said.
“We haven’t counted him out next week, but he’d be highly doubtful,” Linehan said. “With those two injuries it’s going to take a while before he’s going to be cleared.”
Linehan said the facial fractures will heal without surgery.
The Rams signed linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski, the Seahawks’ special teams captain until being released on Saturday, and released safety Dwaine Carpenter.
Offensive tackle Orlando Pace, who missed last Sunday’s game with a concussion, did limited work in practice on Wednesday and was listed as questionable.
Bills
Starting right guard Chris Villarrial did not practice Wednesday because of a right ankle injury and is expected to miss this weekend’s game at Chicago.
Villarrial was listed as doubtful, and coach Dick Jauron said he will need at least a week of rest. Jauron said tests revealed the injury was to a tendon in Villarrial’s ankle, and not a high ankle sprain as initially feared.
Villarrial was hurt in the second quarter of Buffalo’s 17-12 win over Minnesota last weekend, when he opened a hole for Willis McGahee at the Vikings’ goal line. As Villarrial fell into the end zone, several players fell on the back of his leg.
He stayed in for the next play, when McGahee scored from the 1, but the lineman missed the rest of the game and was spotted leaving the stadium wearing a protective boot.
Duke Preston will take over at guard, making his second career start.
Browns
Joshua Cribbs’ kickoff returns of 65 and 53 yards in the second quarter at Oakland swung momentum in Cleveland’s favor, leading directly to 10 points and sparking the Browns to a 24-21 come-from-behind win over the Raiders. Cribbs, a quarterback at Kent State who earned a roster spot last season as an undrafted free agent, was chosen AFC special teams player of the week.
Before joining the Browns, Cribbs had never returned kicks. But once he got his cleats wet, and his helmet rattled a few times doing it, the 23-year-old embraced the role.
“The first time I did it, I got hit really hard and I knew I could withstand more,” he said. “Taking back kicks is an opportunity to give the offense good field position. It’s me against 11 guys.
“On kickoffs, everybody is focused just on me, so it makes it that much harder and that much funner for me.”
Jaguars
DT Marcus Stroud, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, missed practice Wednesday with a sprained ankle and a strained groin. He was listed as doubtful for the game, and with a bye week following the Jets game, Stroud said he was leaning toward sitting out for the first time in his six-year career.
A first-round draft pick from Georgia in 2001, Stroud has played in 85 consecutive games with 69 straight starts.
“It would be weird,” fellow tackle John Henderson said. “But he needs to heal. That would be best for him and for the team.”
Stroud clearly wasn’t healthy last week against Washington. The Redskins got Stroud moving one direction, then had running back Clinton Portis cut the other way. Portis finished with 112 yards rushing. They also kept Stroud and his fellow linemen away from Mark Brunell, who was 18-of-30 for 329 yards and three scores.
Redskins
When Clinton Portis took himself out with the game with the score tied late in the fourth quarter, the coach calling the plays was far from pleased.
Portis, who decides when he plays and when he sits, opted to sit mid-drive with the score tied at 27 and the ball in Jacksonville territory Sunday. Ladell Betts entered and ran the ball on the next three plays, including a third-and-1 he failed to convert.
“The first thing that went through my mind: ‘Why are you coming out?”‘ assistant coach Al Saunders said. “I talked to Clinton about that today. There’s a scenario, and you’re trying to set up things sometimes. And if he comes out to – quote, as he said – ‘recover,’ it sometimes really throws you off.”
The Redskins had to settle for a field goal with 1:55 to play, but they couldn’t hold the lead. They eventually won the game in overtime, 36-30.
But the episode raises the issue over how much leeway the Redskins can give their star running back.
“There are some times when he’s said, ‘Take this series.’ A lot of it falls from Clinton,” Betts said. “Whenever he gets tired or he needs a blow, I try to pick up right where he left off.”
Texans
The Texans are finding out that replacing Domanick Davis is no easy job.
Coach Gary Kubiak has tried three players and so far none has revitalized Houston’s running game. Through four weeks the Texans (1-3) are averaging a paltry 76 yards a game and no Houston running back has gained even 60 yards in a game.
Davis, Houston’s leading rusher for the past three seasons, went on injured reserve before the season because of a sore knee. Kubiak knew the loss of Davis would be difficult to overcome, but hoped one of Houston’s other running backs could step in and produce. So far that hasn’t been the case.
“One of the big things for us offensively as we get going is we’ve got to find a way to run the ball better,” Kubiak said. “We definitely have not run the ball well.”
Kubiak has started rookie sixth-round pick Wali Lundy and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne. Samkon Gado, who was recently acquired in a trade with Green Bay, has also seen action at the position.
Colts
The Colts could play without three Pro Bowlers on Sunday, but might get kicker Adam Vinatieri back in time to face the Titans.
One indication Vinatieri will play came Wednesday when the Colts waived kicker Martin Gramatica and signed tight end Jerome Collins off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.
Defensive end Dwight Freeney (buttocks), center Jeff Saturday (lower back) and safety Bob Sanders, all Pro Bowl choices last year, sat out practice Wednesday and are listed as questionable. Former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Corey Simon (knee) was ruled out.
Simon had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in August and hasn’t played this season. Sanders had arthroscopic surgery more recently and may not return until after the bye week, which falls on Oct. 15.
Vinatieri has missed the last two games with a right groin injury, but said Wednesday he planned to play against the Titans.
“Nobody wants to be on the sideline watching the team play,” he said. “I tried a little last week, but it wasn’t quite there yet so we shut it down with the hope I’d be ready to go this week.”