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Jacksonville Jaguars: Running back Fred Taylor vowed to play Sunday against Pittsburgh, while the team said it will wait until game time to make a decision.

"I'm going to play," Taylor said after practice Friday. "I was limited, but for the most part, I believe I'll make it and will play."

Taylor practiced some Friday despite a sprained right ankle and is officially listed as questionable for the game Sunday against the Steelers.

"That's just something they put on paper because the league says you have to do that," Taylor said. "They could have started me out at questionable, it wouldn't have made a difference. That's just procedures that are mandatory by the league."

He injured his right ankle after gaining a season-high 132 yards in Jacksonville's 23-20 victory Sunday over Cincinnati. Taylor was listed Wednesday as probable, but was downgraded the next day.

If Taylor is unable to play, rookie Alvin Pearman probably will start.

Tennessee Titans: Quarterback Steve McNair was added to the Titans' injury report Friday because of back spasms and was listed as questionable for the team's game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

McNair did not participate in the day's workout, but downplayed the seriousness of the situation.

"It's something I've dealt with from time-to-time throughout my career," he said. "It just got a little tight [Thursday] night, and we're working through it."

McNair has started all five games for the Titans (2-3), completing 111 of 169 passes (65.7 percent) for 1,115 yards and seven touchdowns.

McNair has missed 17 games over the past eight seasons due to a litany of injuries, including his back. A ruptured disc in 1999 required surgery and caused him to miss five games. He overcame back pain in December 2001 and 2002 and did not miss any time.

"We feel it was just muscle spasms," coach Jeff Fisher said. "Over his career he has (had similar situations), but he hasn't really had much of anything to speak of this year since he came to camp."

McNair has been on the injury report only one other time this season, prior to a game against Indianapolis on Oct. 2. He played that week and completed a season-high 28 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

"He is actually much better now than he was [Friday] morning," Fisher said following the day's workout.

Baltimore Ravens-Detroit Lions: Cornerback Chris McAlister and wide receiver Derrick Mason were fined $5,000 apiece by the NFL on Friday for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Detroit Lions.

McAlister was flagged for taunting in the Ravens' 35-17 loss Sunday when he slammed the ball down at Lions receiver Kevin Johnson after an interception.

"I don't have the right to slam the football down on anyone," McAlister said afterward.

Mason was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when he flung the ball at a wall. This action followed Mason arguing with an official ruling a pass incomplete when he caught it out of bounds.

The NFL earlier fined defensive end Terrell Suggs and safety Ed Reed $15,000 each for making impermissible contact with officials in a game where the Ravens committed a franchise-record 21 penalties.

Rookie safety B.J Ward was wrongfully ejected from the game and wasn't fined. "I've been cleared of all accusations, and I know I shouldn't have been thrown out," said Ward, an undrafted free agent making the league minimum of $230,000. "Fifteen thousand, wow, that would have been a bunch of my checks right there. At least they cleared my name."

Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys still aren't sure whether running back Julius Jones will be available Sunday against the New York Giants.

Jones, who has a sprained left ankle, missed his third straight day of practice Friday. Coach Bill Parcells said earlier in the week that Jones would have to practice to play Sunday, but he's still listing Jones as questionable.

Parcells added that Jones may try again Saturday and that he's been keeping up with the game plan.

"I'm just going to wait until the last minute," Parcells said. "There's no use in not taking advantage of all the time. ... I probably wouldn't be too comfortable with his experience level without practicing. I think generally speaking, players need to practice some to have a chance to be successful. Now, there are exceptions."

Rookie Tyson Thompson likely would start in Jones' place, with veteran Anthony Thomas and rookie Marion Barber III also available.

Linebacker Dat Nguyen has practiced the last two days and also is questionable. He missed the last game with a neck injury.

"I just would want him to be confident he can do the things necessary," Parcells said.

Denver Broncos: Injured cornerback Champ Bailey provided a strong hint that he would play against New England, though questions continue regarding his status on Sunday.

"I know the Adrenaline is going to be going once I touch that field on Sunday," he said. "So a lot of that pain is going to go away."

Coach Mike Shanahan remained noncommittal.

"It will be a game time decision," Shanahan said. "We'll get a chance to stretch it out a little bit and see what he can do."

Bailey injured his left hamstring late in the first half of the Kansas City game on Sept. 26. He sat out the next two games ending a streak of 99 consecutive games played.

"I feel a little bit better, and I did a little bit more than yesterday," Bailey said.

Bailey showed no effects from a sore hamstring on drills. He danced and pranced after making one-handed catches of balls thrown by secondary coaches.

"I pushed myself as much as I could, but there were situations where I could pushed a little bit more," Bailey said. "I'm just trying to be careful."

San Diego Chargers: Right tackle Shane Olivea and cornerback Drayton Florence were among the players missing practice on Friday.

Florence sprained an ankle and Olivea sprained a knee in Monday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither have worked this week. They are both listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Oakland.

Others not practicing were wide receiver Eric Parker (back) and outside linebacker Steve Foley (abdominal strain).

Coach Marty Schottenheimer said he'll decide at game time whether any of the four will play.

"A bye week would be nice right now," Olivea said. "If the game was today, I couldn't go. It's going to have to change a lot before game time."

Florence said his ankle has felt better as the week progressed. But he added, "We probably won't know until Sunday."

If needed, Olivea would be replaced by Leander Jordan, and Sammy Davis would fill in for Florence.

Left guard Toniu Fonoti (hand) and tight end Ryan Krause (foot) were declared out for Sunday's game earlier in the week.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press