The NFL's No. 4 career rusher, who underwent knee surgery in December, was placed on the regular-season physically unable to perform list on Tuesday. That means he will miss the first six weeks and the Jets will have 21 days to decide whether to activate him.
The Jets also announced that Chad Pennington is their starting quarterback. Pennington, who has undergone shoulder surgery for two straight years, had been the starting QB throughout the preseason. But first-year coach Eric Mangini had not designated a starter from among Pennington, Patrick Ramsey, Brooks Bollinger and rookie Kellen Clemens.
J.P. Losman will start the season as the Bills quarterback after beating out Kelly Holcomb and newcomer Craig Nall. Losman began last season as the starter but was 1-3 and was replaced by Holcomb. He got the job back when Holcomb was injured. Losman is 37-of-57 for 462 yards passing in three exhibitions with two TDs and two interceptions.
Tampa Bay placed backup quarterback Luke McCown on the physically unable to perform list. McCown partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a workout June 15 and has been unable to practice.
Offensive lineman Seth McKinney was placed on injured reserve. Miami also waived quarterback Brock Berlin and 13 others. McKinney underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a neck disk and was hopeful of returning by early November. He started 29 games at center over the past two seasons for the Dolphins, and was expected to move to guard this year. Berlin, who threw for 5,099 yards and 34 touchdowns in two seasons as a collegiate starter at Miami, played sparingly in the Dolphins' preseason games, completing 6 of 12 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Fifth-round draft pick and former Olympian Jeremy Bloom went on injured reserve after he missed most of training camp with an injured hamstring. Bloom was a burgeoning star at Colorado before his football career was put on hold by an NCAA ruling. In the fall of 2004, the NCAA said Bloom wasn't eligible for football because he accepted endorsements to keep his successful freestyle skiing career on track. The 5-foot-9, 172-pound Bloom was picked to help the Eagles' special teams and wide receiver corps. The 147th overall selection, Bloom had 24 receptions for an average of 19.1 yards in two seasons at Colorado. He returned 47 punts at 13.5 yards per return and 25 kickoffs at 25.1 yards per return. He had five touchdowns of 75 yards or more.
QB Rob Johnson, who missed two seasons with an elbow injury, was released. Johnson, who was drafted by Giants coach Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville in 1995, also played for Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Oakland. He was vying for a backup spot behind Eli Manning but was beaten out by veteran Tim Hasselbeck and second-year-man Jared Lorenzen.
Offensive tackle Mike Williams, trying to revive his career in Jacksonville, was placed on injured reserve. Williams signed a two-year contract that included a $1.4 million signing bonus in March, giving the Jags some depth along the line. For Williams, it was a chance to start over after four tumultuous years with Buffalo; he was the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft. Jacksonville also put RB Greg Jones, the primary backup for oft-injured starter Fred Taylor, on IR.
Domanick Davis doesn't know when his injured left knee will be healthy enough for him to return to the field. Houston's top rusher for the past three seasons has been out for a month with a bone bruise that is causing soreness in his knee. Coach Gary Kubiak plans to meet with Davis, his agent and his doctors this week to discuss his injury. He wants to find out if Davis can play this season.
Billy Volek isn't happy about Tennessee's signing of QB Kerry Collins. Collins practiced for the first time since signing a one-year deal on Monday. "They brought Kerry in here to learn the offense, and he needs reps. They're going to take them from me," Volek said. A six-year veteran, Volek was given the starting job over top draft pick Vince Young after Steve McNair was traded in June. Now he's unhappy at the perception he hasn't done enough to earn the job despite throwing for more yards in his first 10 NFL starts than any other quarterback since 1970.
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