ESPN NFL

Dallas Cowboys: Rookie defensive end Marcus Spears rode a stationary bike Saturday and could be out about a month after someone rolled on his leg during a drill Friday.

Spears has a sprained knee, a high ankle sprain and a pulled groin. He was considered a possible starter.

"It doesn't help. When you're a rookie player, you try to integrate in. You can't do that by watching," coach Bill Parcells said. "It could've been a lot worse than what the prognosis is now. We'll get him rehabbing as quick as we can, we'll get him back as quick as we can and hopefully I'll get him some playing time in the preseason."

Tight end Dan Campbell, who had an emergency appendectomy last week, was back in pads Saturday.

San Francisco 49ers: The team is building a new offense this summer, and on Saturday it took some of their biggest steps so far in training camp.

Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Tim Rattay both moved the first- and second-team units steadily down the field against their defensive counterparts as the 49ers conducted an hour-long afternoon scrimmage before 2,500 fans at their team facility.

After falling to 26th in the NFL in total offense last year -- the team's lowest finish since 1978 -- San Francisco's new coaching staff has brought back a variation of the West Coast system to the place where it was born under coach Bill Walsh in 1979.

The 49ers also have a new quarterback to run the scheme, and Smith again looked poised in the pocket with the first unit, just as he has throughout training camp. Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft, completed five of his first seven passes and guided the offense on a 65-yard touchdown drive. Smith showed the athleticism and made the smart decisions that have given him the inside track on the starting position so far in camp.

"It felt good to keep moving the ball, moving it all the way down and actually putting one in," Smith said. "This is as close to a live situation that I'm going to get before a [preseason] game. I've put a lot of time in with this offense, learning the playbook and trying to know my assignments, and I feel like I've come a long way."

Smith is locked in competition with incumbent starter Rattay, who missed seven games because of injuries during the 49ers' dismal 2-14 season. Rattay also looked good, throwing five consecutive completions over two drives after his first pass fell incomplete. Rattay did his work against San Francisco's first-team defense, and reserve quarterbacks Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett also had their moments directing the attack.

The starting job for next Saturday's preseason opener against the Raiders will come down to a choice between Smith and Rattay. Coach Mike Nolan could make his decision as soon as Monday, when the 49ers return to practice after a players' day off Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens: Top draft pick Mark Clayton signed a five-year, $8.2 million contract, ending a five-day holdout.

The wide receiver from Oklahoma was the 22nd overall pick. He will practice with the team for the first time Monday.

Denver Broncos: Quarterback Jake Plummer and defensive lineman Mario Fatafehi each hurt their knees during a physical practice at training camp Saturday.

The Plummer injury -- a "tweak" of his left knee, as coach Mike Shanahan called it -- was not deemed serious and he returned later during drills.

"It's nothing major and with a couple of days' rest it should be OK," Plummer said. "It was not as if I couldn't keep going."

Shanahan said Fatafehi likely hurt ligaments in his left knee; the early prognosis was that he would miss one to three weeks.

During drills, Denver's defense was stingy at giving up ground, let alone touchdowns. Running backs spent more time being bounced backward than making forward progress.

"We took a pretty good licking," said fullback Kyle Johnson, who had his helmet snapped off his head by a blow to the head. "They were mad and popping the pads."

The Broncos get their first day off of training camp Sunday, before returning for a two-a-day Monday. They practice once Tuesday and then leave for Houston for practices next week with the Texans.

St. Louis Rams: Defensive tackle John Parrella and offensive tackle Matt Willig signed one-year contracts.

Parella, a 12-year veteran, was with the Raiders the last four seasons after eight years with the Chargers and his rookie year with the Bills.

Willig, entering his 14th season, was with the Panthers the last two years and is entering his second stint with the Rams after playing with them in their 1999 Super Bowl championship year. He has also played for the 49ers, Browns, Packers, Falcons and Jets.

Last year, he started nine games at right tackle. The Rams are short at that position ince first-round pick Alex Barron remains a holdout and backup Grant Williams is sidelined with a back injury.

Guard Rex Tucker, who signed a free-agent deal in the offseason, has been moved to starting right tackle.

San Diego Chargers: This time last year, the Chargers' defenders were swimming. Their heads, anyway. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was installing his 3-4 scheme, and the players hardly absorbed it as easily as 1-2-3.

"It takes two years to really learn this," outside linebacker Steve Foley said.

The Chargers are hoping for big improvements from the unit this year. Not so much in stuffing the run, where the Chargers allowed but 81 yards per game and finished with the NFL's third-best ranking. But the Chargers had trouble with defending the pass, their No. 31 ranking being no mirage.

So during the days leading up to Thursday night's exhibition opener at Green Bay, the Chargers have been intent on getting better on passing downs.

Coach Marty Schottenheimer is pleased so far with the progress the defense has made, especially when viewed alongside last summer's performance.

"It's very difficult to make that comparison because of so much that they have learned about the defense and the way it is utilized," Schottenheimer said. "It's even beyond night and day. It's much, much improved."

The Chargers, the defending AFC West champions, will need to pick it up a notch when tackling a schedule which includes both Super Bowl participants on the road, along with away games against the Colts and Jets.

When including the wild-card loss to the Jets, the Chargers were 1-5 against playoff teams last season. But that was in year one of the 3-4. Schottenheimer is confident those numbers against playoff squads will improve based on the improvement his defense is showing in training camp.

Philadelphia Eagles: Running back Correll Buckhalter missed practice after bruising his knee Friday. He has missed two of the last seasons with knee injuries.

Eagles, rookie come to terms: The Eagles signed rookie free-agent wide receiver Chris Samp of Division II Winona State. He caught 222 passes for 4,471 yards (second in Division II history) and 53 touchdowns (third in Division II history) and was a two-time Division II All-American.

Miami Dolphins: Quarterback Gus Frerotte did not practice in what coach Nick Saban called "a precautionary measure."

"I don't want to say he has a sore arm, but when you start to get one, that is the time to back off and not let it become one," Saban said. "I think that was what we were kind of doing as a precautionary measure today."

The Dolphins play the Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, on Monday night.

Saban said Frerotte's status for Monday's preseason opener has not changed. He has not divulged whether Frerotte or A.J. Feeley will start at quarterback against the Bears and said Saturday that the players have not yet been told their roles, either.

"This has no bearing on what his workload is going to be in the game," Saban said.

Carolina Panthers: Cornerback Ken Lucas pulled his hamstring on the second play of the Panthers' scrimmage and sat out the rest of the workout.

Coach John Fox said the team did not know the extent of the injury yet. But Lucas, who signed a $36 million free-agent contract with Carolina during the offseason, said he doubted he will play in next week's preseason opener against Washington.

Arizona Cardinals: Two more players were hurt despite coach Dennis Green's decision to take most of the hitting out of the annual intrasquad game.

Center Alex Stepanovich injured a finger on his right hand and backup defensive end Peppi Zellner twisted his knee during the mock game in helmets and shells.

If Stepanovich misses practice time, he will be the third offensive starter sidelined. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin broke his nose Thursday and will miss two to three weeks, including the exhibition opener Aug. 13 against Dallas and a game at Kansas City on Aug. 20, and tight end Eric Edwards is out with an injured chest muscle sustained Wednesday.

But the squad emerged from the game, which amounted to aggressive touch football, in better shape than last year, when running back Marcel Shipp broke his leg and ankle and missed the season.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press