ESPN NFL

RAMS' ATOGWE HONORED BY FRANCHISE TAG (8:07 p.m. ET)
Being saddled with the franchise tag did not rub St. Louis Rams free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe the wrong way.

"That meant a lot to me," Atogwe said Sunday after practice at Rams Park. "It was an honor, to say the least, to be that highly thought of by the organization and to be put among the top in your position in this league.

"It doesn't come easily. Not many players can have that said about them whether or not they think it about themselves. To have it said about me is definitely a blessing and it's not anything I want to tarnish or even belittle a little bit."

Atogwe signed the $6.3 million franchise tender July 15 and reported on time to camp. He did not miss any minicamps even though he was not under contract.

That impressed rookie coach Steve Spagnuolo, who thought Atogwe handled the franchise tag situation well.

"I've told him a number of times how classy I think he has handled everything," Spagnuolo said. "That's a quality person right there. Forget about the football talent.

"And, I sensed that the first time when I first got here, I visited with him in my office, and you could see that right away."

-- The Associated Press

PATRIOTS RELEASE TIGHT END DEVREE (7:56 p.m. ET)
The New England Patriots released second-year tight end Tyson DeVree on Sunday.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound DeVree was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Colorado in 2008. He was a member of the Patriots' practice squad for nine weeks last season before being signed to the 53-man roster.

DeVree made his NFL debut against Seattle on Dec. 7 and also played against Arizona on Dec. 21.

The Patriots have four tight ends in camp, all veterans: Benjamin Watson, Chris Baker, Alex Smith and David Thomas.

Coach Bill Belichick said he felt the move "was the right thing to do for him and for us."

-- The Associated Press

BUCS STILL EVALUATING QUARTERBACK SITUATION (6:46 p.m. ET)
Raheem Morris is keeping his options open on Tampa Bay's starting quarterback.

The first-year coach has been promising a decision before the third preseason game, but raised the possibility Sunday the competition between Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown could be extended another week.

Neither player has established himself as the clear-cut No. 1, although Leftwich appeared to be the front-runner before McCown played well in Saturday night's 24-23 preseason victory at Jacksonville.

"We've still got to meet and evaluate," Morris said, adding that first-round draft pick Josh Freeman and second-year pro Josh Johnson also have contributed to making it tough to settle the quarterback situation before Thursday's game against Miami.

"To be honest with you, more than one of them stepped outside of their box a little bit and kind of showed some things. ... We asked for competition and we're getting it."

-- The Associated Press

RAIDERS' MORRISON INJURED (11:13 a.m. ET)
Middle linebacker Kirk Morrison left in the first quarter of Saturday's night's game against the San Francisco 49ers with a dislocated left elbow.

Morrison, battling Ricky Brown for the starting spot, will miss at least two weeks.

Morrison, who has started at middle linebacker the past three seasons for the Raiders, finished fifth in the NFL in tackles last season.

-- ESPN.com news services

SAINTS' BROWN READY FOR OPENER? (11:09 a.m. ET)
Left tackle Jammal Brown is back in New Orleans after having sports hernia surgery, the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported.

Although Brown is expected to miss the rest of training camp, the Saints are hopeful he'll be ready for Week 1.

"Jeremy Shockey was back in three weeks after his [sports hernia] surgery last season," general manager Mickey Loomis said, according to the newspaper. "So we're hopeful."

-- ESPN.com news services

RAMS' FOSTER OUT 6-8 WEEKS (11:04 a.m. ET)
St. Louis Rams rookie receiver Brooks Foster is out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury, coach Steve Spagnuolo announced Saturday.

Foster, drafted in the fifth round by the Rams, was injured in the team's preseason opener against the Jets on Aug. 14.

It was initially thought that Foster suffered a high ankle sprain, but additional testing revealed further damage.

-- ESPN.com news services