NFL notes: Browns may change QBs
Published 11:08 pm Monday, September 22, 2008
BILLS: Buffalo starting fullback Darian Barnes was scheduled to have tests on his injured right foot late Monday, leaving his status uncertain for Buffalo’s game at St. Louis on Sunday. Coach Dick Jauron didn’t discuss the nature of the injury.
BROWNS: With his team off to an unexpected 0-3 start and Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson coming off another rough performance, Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel said Monday he is assessing his team and considering personnel changes leading into Sunday’s game against the winless Bengals, including starting former first-round draft pick and Notre Dame star Brady Quinn.
SAINTS: New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey, the Saints’ second-leading receiver through three games, is expected to be out for three to six weeks because of a sports hernia.
On Monday afternoon, Saints spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed a report on the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune’s Web site that Shockey was scheduled to have surgery this week. A sports hernia is the weakening of muscles or tendons in the lower abdominal wall.
REDSKINS: What seemed like an annoying kick in the calf turned into a significant medical issue for Washington defensive end Jason Taylor, who underwent a 20-minute emergency procedure Monday and will miss next week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The injury will end Taylor’s consecutive games streak at 133, the seventh longest among active players. He hasn’t missed a game since 1999, early in his career with the Miami Dolphins.
LIONS: Bill Ford Jr. has seen enough of the way team president Matt Millen is running his father’s Detroit Lions. The Ford Motor Co. executive chairman spoke to reporters Monday after a Detroit Economic Club meeting. The vice chairman of the Lions said he was disappointed in the team’s performance and said fans deserve better.
When asked, Ford said Millen should leave the 0-3 Lions, but he didn’t have the authority to make such a significant change. His father, William Clay Ford, is the owner and chairman of the franchise.
PACKERS: Green Bay cornerback Al Harris underwent additional medical tests Monday amid a report he might have ruptured his spleen in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The National Football Post, a Web site that lists Harris’ agent as a contributor, reported that the injury could end Harris’ season, but Harris was seeking a second opinion.
PANTHERS: Carolina rookie linebacker Dan Connor will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Connor will be placed on injured reserve, but the Panthers on Monday had not immediately signed another player to take his roster spot. Connor was injured in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota and was carted to the locker room.
SUPER BOWL: General Motors Corp. said Monday that it will not air a TV advertisement during the 2009 Super Bowl, as the automaker continues to slash expenses as part of its restructuring plan. GM Spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato said that while GM will remain a sponsor of the National Football League and will likely air ads before and after the game, it will not buy ad time during the actual event.
