Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008

NFL NOTEBOOK: Bears release Ricky Manning Jr.

 Chicago released cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. on Tuesday. In two seasons with the Bears, he appeared in 31 games with 11 starts. With the Bears, Manning had 106 tackles, three sacks and five interceptions. He signed with the team as a restricted free agent in 2006.

BENGALS: Quarterback Carson Palmer will skip Cincinnati's last preseason game, resting his broken nose while running back Rudi Johnson makes his first appearance in a Bengals uniform this season. Johnson and Pro Bowl receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh have missed most of training camp and the first three preseason games because of hamstring injuries, but are expected to play against the Colts. Coach Marvin Lewis hasn't decided how long they'll be in the game.

BILLS: Buffalo quarterback Trent Edwards is ready to play after returning to practice, and starting tackle Langston Walker might not be far behind. Edwards returned after missing a week with a bruised right thigh and said he should play in Buffalo's preseason finale against Detroit on Thursday. As for Walker, he missed practice and is not expected to play against Detroit. But the injury to his left forearm is not as severe as initially feared when he was hurt at Indianapolis.

BRONCOS: Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall was in New York to appeal his three-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had indicated he would reduce Marshall's suspension to two games if he kept in contact with a league-appointed counselor and stayed out of further legal trouble. Marshall and his attorney, Harvey Steinberg, want a further reduction in that penalty.

BROWNS: Cleveland wide receiver Joe Jurevicius will miss the first six weeks of the regular season while he recovers from knee surgery. The Browns placed Jurevicius on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

BUCCANEERS: Tampa Bay placed running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams on the reserve physically-unable-to-perform list, meaning his bid to return from a serious knee injury will be delayed at least until after the sixth week of the regular season.

COLTS: Indianapolis placed kick returner T.J. Rushing and backup tight end Zac Herold on injured reserve, ending their seasons, and cut three other players to reach the NFL's roster limit of 75. Rushing and Herold both injured knees in Sunday night's 20-7 loss to Buffalo.

GIANTS: Michael Strahan is staying retired, although his agent said that the seven-time Pro Bowler seriously considered returning to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

"He was very close to returning, but the great part about Michael is that he takes his time to think about things and he is very thorough," Tony Agnone said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "You can get excited about coming back and running through the tunnel one more time."

Giants general manager Jerry Reese asked the 36-year-old Strahan to reconsider his retirement on Monday, just 48 hours after the Super Bowl champions lost Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora for the season to a knee injury in the preseason game against the New York Jets.

Wide receiver David Tyree was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform reserve list by New York, meaning the player who made a game-saving catch in the Super Bowl won't be making any for at least the first six weeks of the season.

JETS: Grab a cap and a clipboard, Brett. It appears you'll be sitting this one out. Jets coach Eric Mangini said he's leaning toward not playing quarterback Brett Favre in the team's preseason finale at Philadelphia.

"If I had to tilt one way or the other like an airplane, I'd tilt that way," Mangini said.

PANTHERS: Carolina addressed its lack of depth at wide receiver by signing Samie Parker, a day after he was released by Denver. The Panthers made room on the 75-man roster by waiving rookie receiver Sean Bailey. The Panthers are thin at receiver with injuries to D.J. Hackett, Ryne Robinson and Jason Carter. Top receiver Steve Smith will be suspended for the first two games for punching teammate Ken Lucas in a training camp practice.

STEELERS: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn't issue any ultimatums after meeting with the five Rooney brothers about the future of Pittsburgh. He did emphasize that three-quarters of league owners must approve any potential sale, and team chairman Dan Rooney happens to be very popular among other owners. Dan Rooney and his four brothers each own 16 percent of the franchise. Dan and son Art Rooney II, the Steelers' president, are attempting to buy enough shares to become primary owners, but the brothers could receive more money selling on the open market.

Associated Press
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