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Seattle Seahawks: Defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes will not be with the Seahawks for Sunday's regular season opener at Jacksonville after being hospitalized for dizziness.

Rhodes, 54, was sent to a hospital by team doctors on Sunday for a series of tests. The team said he was released from the hospital on Tuesday.

The Seahawks said doctors have yet to find an explanation for Rhodes' dizziness so he will continue to undergo tests and be monitored during the next few days.

Seahawks linebackers coach John Marshall, whose 26-year NFL career includes stints as defensive coordinator in Atlanta, San Francisco and Carolina, will assume Rhodes' duties on a temporary basis under head coach Mike Holmgren.

Marshall said he thought it would be difficult for the intense Rhodes to miss the opener.

"I'm sure he's not," Marshall said when asked if he thought if Rhodes was able to rest comfortably. "He's anxious, but he has to take care of himself."

Marshall said Rhodes might be absent from the game, but he would still make a contribution at Jacksonville.

"It's Ray's game plan and we're just executing it," he said.

Rhodes is a former head coach in Philadelphia and Green Bay.

Goodyear Blimp
One of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s three North American blimps might be out of commission for the start of the NFL season this week.

The Stars & Stripes blimp crashed in Coral Springs, Fla., during a thunderstorm on June 16, and the Akron-based company still isn't saying whether it will repair, replace or permanently ground it.

"I don't have an answer for you at this time," spokesman Chuck Sinclair told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Goodyear still has two active blimps in its North American fleet: the Suffield, Ohio-based Spirit of Goodyear and the Carson, Calif.-based Spirit of America.

In the past, the company was quick to reveal plans for its fallen airships and reaffirm its commitment to the entire blimp program.

In 1999, Goodyear took only five days to announce it would replace the Spirit of Akron blimp with a new one after it crashed near the Wingfoot Lake blimp hangar in Ohio. And in 2000, Goodyear took only six days to say it would repair the Stars & Stripes airship, based in Pompano Beach, Fla., after it crashed during a landing in Philadelphia.

However, in 2003 it took Goodyear about six weeks to say it would rebuild its damaged Spirit of America, which crashed during a landing.

Carolina Panthers: Stephen Davis' contract has been restructured to protect the team should he end up injured again, the Charlotte Observer reported.

In exchange for incentives, Davis will make about $300,000 less in base salary -- $2.2 million -- as long as he remains healthy. His salary would be $1.25 million if he goes on injured reserve.

Overall, his cap hit drops to $2.9 million from $3.1 million with the new deal, the paper reported. He's under contract through 2007.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Joey Porter sounds like he'll play Sunday against the Titans.

Coach Bill Cowher has told players not to give injury info to reporters, so the linebacker was guarded, but optimistic when asked about his progress.

"You have to ask coach Cowher. He deals with the injuries," Porter told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I feel all right. Nothing happened from today."

Porter had knee surgery Aug. 10.

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers signed fullback Chris Hetherington, releasing guard Tony Wragge to make room for the 10-year veteran.

The 49ers finalized their 53-man roster with the addition of Hetherington, who was cut by the Raiders on Saturday after two seasons with the club. The former Yale star also has played for Indianapolis, Carolina and St. Louis.

"I ran this [West Coast] offense for three years at Carolina, so the verbiage came pretty quick," said Hetherington, who joined practice later in the day. "A few teams called Sunday, but this deal was definitely something I was interested in. There's a lot of good players here that are going to be a good team, so it was an easy decision."

The 49ers need depth at Hetherington's position because backup fullback Steve Bush might be forced to play tight end if injured starter Eric Johnson and new acquisition Trent Smith aren't ready to go in the season opener against the Rams on Sunday. Rookie Billy Bajema is the 49ers' only healthy tight end who went through training camp with the club.

Johnson, who's still wearing a stabilizing boot on his right foot because of plantar fasciitis, pedaled an exercise bike on the sideline while his teammates practiced. Nolan put Johnson's chances at "50-50" to play Sunday, but the tight end is optimistic.

Wragge was out of football last season after trying to make the Arizona Cardinals' roster in the previous two seasons. He played for the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League last spring.

San Francisco also signed cornerback Ahmad Treaudo to complete its eight-man practice squad. Treaudo, an undrafted free agent waived by the New York Giants on Aug. 8, led Division I-A and I-AA players last season with nine interceptions at Southern University.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers signed tight end Donald Lee on Tuesday and released tight end Ben Steele and fullback Nick Luchey.

To maintain the 53-man active roster, the team promoted fullback Vonta Leach from the practice squad.

Lee, a third-year player out of Mississippi State, has started 15 of 32 NFL games, all with the Miami Dolphins. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2003.

Leach played in four games for the Packers last season after also being promoted from the practice squad last year.

Luchey was an unrestricted free agent who joined Green Bay in 2003 and played in 27 games in the last two seasons.

Steele played in 15 games after being added to the practice squad in 2004. Steele recovered a late fumble that led to a win against Minnesota last season, but struggled in training camp despite more opportunities while Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks held out.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos signed quarterback Kliff Kingsbury to their practice squad Tuesday, putting the former Texas Tech star in the position held last season by Matt Mauck.

Kingsbury was a sixth-round draft pick by New England in 2003 and spent that whole season on injured reserve. He was on the New Orleans practice squad last year and was waived by the Saints on Aug. 29.

At Texas Tech, he became only the third player in college football history to throw for more than 10,000 career yards.

When the Broncos released Mauck, many thought they would try to bring him back if he cleared waivers. But Mauck pursued other options and wound up on the practice squad of the Tennessee Titans.

The Broncos are carrying only two quarterbacks on their active roster, Jake Plummer and Bradlee Van Pelt.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Quincy Morgan, released by the Cowboys over the weekend, signed Tuesday with the Steelers to add depth to their depleted group of wide receivers.

To make room for Morgan, the Steelers released Lee Mays, hours after coach Bill Cowher said he would miss two weeks with a hamstring injury. The Steelers did not say if they had reached an injury settlement with Mays.

Morgan, a five-year veteran from Kansas State, was a second-round pick of Cleveland in 2001 before being traded last October to Dallas for Antonio Bryant.

Morgan set career highs in 2002 with 56 receptions, 964 receiving yards (17.2 average) and seven touchdowns. He was let go by Dallas on Saturday, after the Cowboys signed former Atlanta receiver Peerless Price.

Mays was a Steelers sixth-round pick in 2002 and made 11 catches during his career.

Buffalo Bills: The Bills changed long snappers Tuesday, signing Mike Schneck and releasing Jon Dorenbos.

Schneck spent six seasons with Pittsburgh before being released Saturday.

Dorenbos appeared in 29 games with Buffalo after making the team as an undrafted rookie free agent out of UTEP in 2003.