ESPN NFL Training Camp 2008

TOMLINSON WON'T PLAY MUCH IN PRESEASON (11:46 p.m. ET)
San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson isn't expected to carry the ball in any of the team's four preseason games, coach Norv Turner said Monday.

Tomlinson, an eight-year pro who has won consecutive rushing titles, has only 14 preseason carries in his career. He's expected to get in some pregame warmups Saturday in the preseason opener against the Cowboys but won't see much action afterward.

"I'm looking forward to Saturday just because we're going to get a chance to get out there and play," Tomlinson said. "I say we -- I'll be on the field and into it and everything."

Meanwhile, quarterback Philip Rivers will play against Dallas, although Turner said the length of his appearance would be determined later in the week.

The game represents another step in Rivers' recovery after having his torn ACL repaired in the offseason. Rivers said he's not concerned about how it will respond because it has been well tested in training camp.

-- The Associated Press

SEVERAL SAINTS TO SIT OUT PRESEASON GAME (9:31 p.m. ET)
Deuce McAllister and Jeremy Shockey are among several projected regulars that Saints coach Sean Payton has decided to keep out of the lineup when New Orleans plays its first preseason game at Arizona on Thursday.

Cornerbacks Mike McKenzie and Tracy Porter, as well as wide receiver Devery Henderson, will sit out as well, Payton said Monday.

Most of the players are resting as a precaution.

Wide receiver Marques Colston, who has minor swelling in his left knee, may sit out as well on Thursday night, Payton said.

"If it were the regular season, we'd probably push through it and he'd play, but we'll see where he's at," Payton said.

-- The Associated Press

BENGALS WAIVE RB IRONS (7:46 p.m. ET)
The Cincinnati Bengals cut ties with injured running back Kenny Irons on Monday.

Irons was their second-round draft pick last year, but injured his left knee during a preseason game. The Bengals waived him on July 25, and put him on an injury reserve list after he passed through waivers unclaimed.

They waived him again on Monday, an indication they weren't optimistic about his chances of a comeback.

Rudi Johnson is the team's starting running back, and Chris Perry is trying to return from two injury-shortened seasons.

-- The Associated Press

MINOR SCUFFLE BETWEEN BAY RIVALS (6:46 p.m. ET)
Moran Norris took offense after getting hit by Edgerton Hartwell, leading to a minor scuffle between the San Francisco 49ers' offense and the Oakland Raiders' defense. Oakland defensive tackle William Joseph got tangled up with San Francisco offensive lineman Chilo Rachal

Those two small tussles proved to be an exception at an intense but controlled joint practice Monday between the Bay Area rival 49ers and Raiders.

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and Niners coach Mike Nolan decided to spice up training camp with the joint practice session that allowed the two teams to work against different players and different styles in advance of their preseason game Friday.

The concern of the coaches before the practice was that the intensity of facing an opponent would boil over and lead to a scuffle. But for the most part the teams stayed under control, with the exception of the two minor incidents.

The bigger one started when Hartwell hit Norris with a shoulder as he went across the middle to make a catch in a seven-on-seven drill.

Norris got up in Hartwell's face, leading to the small scuffle. Raiders safety Jarrod Cooper then grabbed running back Frank Gore from behind, thinking it was his friend and former Carolina teammate DeShaun Foster. Gore knocked Cooper's helmet off and the two wrestled a bit before the entire scuffle died down.

Afterward, Nolan went over and tried to calm down Hartwell, who played in Baltimore when Nolan was an assistant with the Ravens.

-- The Associated Press

RB BROWN RETURNS TO PRACTICE (6:40 p.m. ET)
Texans running back Chris Brown returned to practice after sitting out last week with a sore back.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Brown, who signed as a free agent in March, is expected to back up Ahman Green this season. Brown rushed for 462 yards and five touchdowns last year for Tennessee and missed four games with injuries.

Brown took a painkilling injection last week and said his back felt fine after Monday's workout.

When Brown got hurt, the Texans signed Mike Bell, who was cut by Denver. Bell sat out Monday with a sore hamstring.

In other Texans news, WR Andre Johnson skipped the morning practice after suffering a minor groin injury on Saturday.

"We're very fortunate with Andre," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "But we're going to take the cautious approach."

-- The Associated Press

BILLS' BOWEN TO HAVE SURGERY (6:12 p.m. ET)
Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen is scheduled to have surgery next week to repair a torn right knee ligament and is expected to miss most if not all of the regular season.

Coach Dick Jauron said Monday that the Bills' fifth-round pick out of Iowa State will need months to recuperate. The team hasn't yet determined whether to place Bowen on season-ending injured reserve.

-- The Associated Press

KELLY TO MISS TWO MORE WEEKS (5:40 p.m. ET)
Washington Redskins rookie receiver Malcolm Kelly had arthroscopic surgery Monday on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined for two more weeks.

Kelly injured his right hamstring during training camp practice July 25 and has since been complaining of soreness in both knees. He returned last week to take part in some drills but was obviously laboring while on the field. He sat out Sunday's Hall of Fame game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The surgery, performed at the Andrews Institute in Pensacola, Fla., removed loose particles from the knee.

"It has been kind of stiff. … We just thought we'd do things as soon as we can if there is a problem," coach Jim Zorn said.

Kelly was a second-round pick from Oklahoma in this year's draft. He and fellow rookie Devin Thomas were expected to contend for the No. 3 receiving spot, but both have been hurt for much of camp. Thomas missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury and also isn't expect to play in Saturday's game against Buffalo.

-- The Associated Press

PATRIOTS SIGN WELBOURN (5:38 p.m. ET)
Offensive lineman John Welbourn, who started every game at right guard last season for Kansas City, signed Monday with the New England Patriots.

The Patriots also released rookie defensive lineman Chris Norwell.

Welbourn joins the Patriots about a month before they open their season against his former team in Foxborough, Mass., on Sept. 7. He was released last February after his fourth season with the Chiefs. He also played five years with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Welbourn has started 95 of the 103 games in which he's played after being drafted in the fourth round out of California-Berkeley in 1999.

-- The Associated Press

JETS TE BAKER ACTIVATED FROM PUP LIST (4:31 p.m. ET)

Chris Baker got to the New York Jets' training facility in Hempstead, N.Y., at 6:30 a.m. and received the news he's been waiting to hear since camp began.

"They said, 'You're up today,'" the veteran tight end said. "And I was like, 'OK, well, let's
go.'"

Baker was activated from the physically unable to perform list Monday after spending the first 11 days of camp on the sideline trying to rehabilitate his tweaked back.

No longer limited to being a bike-riding bystander in practice, Baker worked with the first- and second-team offenses in the team's morning session.

-- The Associated Press

STEELERS LINEMAN HAMPTON TOO HEAVY TO PRACTICE (4:23 p.m. ET)

Casey Hampton, the four-time Pro Bowl nose tackle, remained on the sidelines Monday in Latrobe, Pa., as the Pittsburgh Steelers began their second week of training camp.

Hampton is being punished by coach Mike Tomlin for what now is a seldom-seen violation: weighing too much.

Hampton claimed Monday he isn't sure what he weighs, though it appears to be far more than the 325 pounds listed on the Steelers' roster.

"I ain't got on the scale. I don't really get on the scale, that's not my thing," Hampton said. "I play ball."

-- The Associated Press