ESPN NFL Training Camp 2007

Detroit Lions: Quarterback Jon Kitna's status for the Lions' third preseason game remained uncertain Thursday. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz said the Lions will wait until Saturday afternoon to decide whether the starter will play that night at Indianapolis. Kitna left Tuesday's practice with back spasms and has not taken part in drills since.

Coach Rod Marinelli said Wednesday he didn't think the injury was serious but added the team was ready to play the Colts without him.

"You've got to go with what you have," Marinelli said.

The third preseason game typically features the starting unit. Kitna took every regular-season snap in 2006, led the NFL in completions (372) and was second in attempts (596). Both were career bests and team records. The 11-year veteran's 4,208 yards were second only to Scott Mitchell's 4,338 on Detroit's single-season list.

Dan Orlovsky, one of two quarterbacks fighting for the backup job, is doubtful for Saturday's game with a turf toe injury suffered Aug. 18 at Cleveland. He has not taken part in drills since the game. And Detroit lost rookie Drew Stanton, the first of two second-round picks, to a knee injury early in camp.

Journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan and rookie Phil Horvath have taken all the practice snaps since Kitna left practice Tuesday. Horvath, a free agent who played last season at Northern Illinois, joined the team Tuesday.

Drummond cut: Unable to demonstrate in training camp the kind of versatility the Lions were seeking, former Pro Bowl return specialist Eddie Drummond was released on Thursday, making the five-year veteran an unrestricted free agent.

The end of Drummond's tenure with the Lions comes less than three seasons after he went to the Pro Bowl, having established himself in 2004 as one of the NFL's most dynamic return men. That season, Drummond became one of only three players in league history to score twice each on kickoff returns and punt returns in the same year. He averaged 26.6 yards on 41 kickoff returns in 2004 and 13.2 yards on 24 punt runbacks.

But the current Detroit staff, which took over in 2006, wanted Drummond to become more involved at wide receiver, and he made little progress at the position. He had just two receptions for 10 yards last season and in camp this summer got very few reps. For his career, Drummond has only four receptions.

Detroit lists Troy Walters and Shaun McDonald, both signed during the offseason as free agents, as its top two punt returners now. Aveion Cason is the No. 1 kickoff returner. All three veterans can fill more roles than Drummond did, and McDonald played for offensive coordinator Mike Martz in St. Louis.

Signed by the Lions as an undrafted college free agent in 2002, Drummond has a career average of 23.6 yards and has scored two touchdowns on 213 kickoff returns. The former Penn State star has 108 punt returns for a 9.8-yard average and four touchdowns. On combined kickoff and punt runbacks, Drummond has 20 returns of 40 yards or more.

Elsewhere in NFL camps:

Chicago Bears: Tommie Harris had little to say as he walked off the field following Thursday's practice, other than that he's ready to play. That doesn't necessarily mean the Bears will give the Pro Bowl defensive tackle a chance against the 49ers on Saturday. Although he has been practicing and will be in uniform, his status for the third preseason game remains a question mark.

All Harris would say on Thursday was, "I'm ready to play; it's up to these guys if they want to do it."

And coach Lovie Smith added little.

"Will Tommie play? There's a chance of that," Smith said. "We're not making any decision on that right now. We'll let you know later."

A Pro Bowl pick the past two seasons, Harris has not played since a hamstring injury in early December that required surgery. While the Bears would like to see him in a game, they're willing to wait until the opener at San Diego.

"Everything we do is about San Diego, so we won't take any chances with him," Smith said.

The Bears got to the Super Bowl after Harris went down last season, but they realize their chances to return hinge largely on his health. So it's not surprising that they're taking a cautious approach, even if he says he's OK.

Indianapolis Colts: Receiver Marvin Harrison returned to practice Thursday after tending to personal matters Wednesday. Harrison, one of only four players in NFL history to catch 1,000 passes, rarely takes a break. Coach Tony Dungy said he had been excused for personal reasons.

Six other players sat out practice Thursday, including No. 3 tight end Bryan Fletcher, backup receiver Aaron Moorehead and defensive backs Brannon Condren and Michael Coe.

Former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders worked out for the second straight day, giving himself a clean bill of health after his first practice in pads Wednesday. Sanders hadn't practiced in pads since having offseason surgery on his left shoulder.

"Why would you worry about it when I ain't worried about it?" Sanders said. "It's usually six months to heal, and I've been running and conditioning since a couple of weeks after surgery."

Minnesota Vikings: Coach Brad Childress missed Thursday's practice to tend to a family matter. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier supervised in his absence, and he said Childress was expected back soon after the workout ended. The Vikings have a brief practice Friday that's closed to reporters before traveling to Seattle for an exhibition game Saturday night against the Seahawks.

"He asked me just to kind of oversee things, making sure things were going fine," Frazier said, adding: "We've got enough leadership on this football team where guys stood up and just made sure that there was no drop-off."

Defensive tackle Fred Evans returned to the team on Thursday after missing the last week. He had a court appearance in Miami, where he pleaded no contest and avoided jail time for fighting with police officers earlier this summer. The incident occurred before he was cut by the Dolphins and signed with the Vikings. Frazier said he planned to give Evans some playing time in Seattle.

Safety Mike Doss (calf) was the most notable name among five players who didn't practice Thursday.

Miami Dolphins: Bob Knight will drop in on the Dolphins for the first time since his former protege, Cam Cameron, became their head coach. Knight plans to attend Saturday's exhibition game between the Dolphins and Buccaneers.

"He is the greatest teacher I have ever been around," said Cameron, who was head football coach at Indiana when Knight was there as basketball coach. "There is nothing I would not do for that man."

Cameron became the Dolphins' coach in January. Knight, now coach at Texas Tech, is also friends with Bucs coach Jon Gruden.

Baltimore Ravens: Cornerback Samari Rolle and wide receiver Mark Clayton both insist they'll be ready for Baltimore's regular-season opener at Cincinnati. Rolle and Clayton sprained their right ankles in a 13-12 loss to the Giants on Sunday and are expected to sit out the remainder of the preseason.

Rolle is optimistic that this ankle injury won't linger like the one he suffered in the second game last year against the Raiders. That setback affected his speed, and eventually his confidence.

"Same ankle, but not as bad," said Rolle, who's off crutches. "I think it's just sprained badly. I'll be out there in the opener definitely."

Rolle and Clayton are among several Ravens battling injuries heading into their preseason game at Washington on Saturday night. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (swollen knee) and rookie outside linebacker Antwan Barnes (right high-ankle sprain) are expected to be game-time decisions. Tight end Daniel Wilcox (left ankle sprain) and running back P.J. Daniels (hamstring) returned to practice Thursday morning but won't play against the Redskins.

The Ravens will start second-year cornerback David Pittman in Rolle's place against the Redskins and Demetrius Williams in place of Clayton. Nose guard Kelly Gregg, who has missed the majority of the preseason with knee and thigh injuries, is slated to play at least a few snaps.

Dallas Cowboys: Starting cornerback Terence Newman isn't expected to play the rest of the preseason because of a right heel problem that the team said Thursday is more than a bruise.

"He's got a strain. It looks like it's going to be another week or so," coach Wade Phillips said. "It's a little worse than we thought it was."

Phillips said Newman won't play Saturday night in Houston, and the coach said he'd "be surprised" if the cornerback was able to play in the preseason finale Thursday night at Minnesota. But the injury isn't expected to keep Newman out of the Sept. 9 regular-season opener against the Giants.

"No, not in my mind," Phillips said. "That's what they tell me."

When Newman was held out of Saturday night's 31-20 victory over Denver, his injury was described as a bruised heel.

Newman wasn't in the locker room after practice Thursday. During the 30 minutes at the beginning of practice open to reporters, Newman was on the field in uniform Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday -- the Cowboys' only workouts this week. Phillips said Newman tried to practice, but team trainers decided he needed to stay off the foot.

"He tried a little bit," Phillips said. "We took him out and then they determined that the best thing is just to keep him out."

Aaron Glenn will start in Newman's spot against the Texans. The Cowboys will also be able to take an extended look at Joey Thomas, Nathan Jones and Jacques Reeves.

Phillips said fullback Oliver Hoyte (neck stinger) and tight end Anthony Fasano (bruised shoulder) won't play Saturday night even though they have been practicing this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Quarterback Quinn Gray played in Thursday night's preseason game against the Packers despite the death of his father, a renowned high school football coach in South Florida.

Otis Gray, who coached for 13 seasons at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died Thursday from complications due to colon cancer. He was 62.

"This is a sad day for me and my family," Gray said in a statement issued by the team before the game, in which he was 3-of-5 for 44 passing yards. "I'll play tonight with a heavy heart, but I want to play because that is what my dad would want me to do. I want to play for my dad and my family. Tell my family I love them and I'll be home soon."

In 13 years at Dillard, Otis Gray had a 107-54 record and produced several college and NFL players. Dillard made the playoffs from 1983-90, winning state championships in '86 and '89.

Rams receiver Isaac Bruce, who played on the 1989 state championship team, said Gray was a father figure to him and other players.

"He made you respect authority like you should as a youngster," Bruce told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "He was in the process of making young boys mature into men and he did the same for the young ladies. Everyone respected him."

Denver Broncos: Safeties John Lynch and Hamza Abdullah are accustomed to hitting guys pretty hard. They have a newfound respect for boxers now after taking up the sweet science in the offseason, along with receiver-returner Quincy Morgan.

Lynch decided to add six weeks of boxing to his winter workout regimen to refresh his mind and body as he prepared for his 15th season in the NFL. Abdullah and Morgan followed suit in the summer, and all three say it's something that will be a permanent part of their strength and conditioning programs.

"I don't take breaks, I don't feel like you can, but you need things to keep training fresh," said Lynch, who didn't want to just do his usual running drills in the offseason. "It gets old, it gets tired. And I thought it was something that could keep it fresh and prove beneficial, the hand placement, the quickness, things that we use blitzing, and it just really got me in good condition.

"You've got to be in tremendous condition, particularly at this altitude," he said.

Lynch said the boxing helped his footwork and his handwork, "and one thing it certainly made me do is respect those guys. Going three-minute rounds, I wasn't even getting hit. We were just punching the bags and stuff. My gosh, those guys are impressive."

Information from ESPN.com senior NFL writer Len Pasquarelli and The Associated Press was used in this report.