Tampa Bay running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams and tackle Luke Petitgout will miss the rest of the season with knee injuries sustained Sunday.
Williams hurt his right knee when he was tackled by Carolina safety Chris Harris at the end of an 18-yard run during the first quarter of the 20-7 victory over the Panthers. Petitgout was hurt when defensive tackle Kris Jenkins fell into his right leg in the second quarter.
“That’s a big blow. … We have some people who need to step up,” coach Jon Gruden said Monday.
Williams was the 2005 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Tampa Bay’s leading rusher the past two seasons. Petitgout, a ninth-year pro who spent the first eight seasons of his career with the New York Giants, was signed to stabilize an offensive line featuring three starters in their first or second year in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will miss Sunday’s game against Baltimore, but won’t need surgery on his separated right shoulder.
Coach Mike Nolan said the 49ers won’t set a target return date for Smith until Thursday, after the swelling has subsided in his shoulder.
Though similar injuries sometimes require two to three months of recovery, Nolan expressed hope Smith might return by Oct. 21, when the 49ers visit the New York Giants in their first game after a bye week.
Smith was hurt on the third play of San Francisco’s 23-3 loss to Seattle. Trent Dilfer will get the start against the Ravens.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said he hopes a rigorous rehabilitation program will allow him to avoid undergoing season-ending surgery on his strained right elbow.
A week after coach John Fox said Delhomme would not need to go under the knife, the quarterback acknowledged surgery is possible.
“Maybe that could happen down the line. I don’t know, and that’s the God’s honest truth,” Delhomme said. “We don’t know yet.”
Middle linebacker Dan Morgan also revealed for the first time that he has a partially torn Achilles tendon and is out indefinitely.
The Colts could be without Marvin Harrison, Bob Sanders and Joseph Addai when they host Tampa Bay.
Coach Tony Dungy was awaiting medical updates, yet acknowledged each of those players, along with linebacker Rob Morris and No. 2 tight end Ben Utecht, could be sidelined.
“All the guys that were hurt yesterday have a chance to be out, yes,” Dungy said. “I’d have to say there’s a chance they’ll miss some practices or a game, so as coaches we have to plan for all of them to be out.”
Harrison, an eight-time Pro Bowl receiver who ranks fourth on the NFL’s career receptions chart, bruised his left knee against Denver and spent the final 2 1/2 quarters in the locker room.
“I don’t think it’s a long-term thing, and Marvin didn’t think so either when I talked to him,” team president Bill Polian said on his weekly radio show. “But we haven’t gotten the results of the MRI yet, so I can’t tell you for sure.”
Sanders injured his ribs in the first half and Dungy said team doctors instructed him not to play Sanders in the second. Addai, last year’s top rookie rusher, couldn’t finish the game after taking a hard shot to his right shoulder.
The most severe injury, however, was to Morris, who sprained his left knee late in the first half when Broncos tight end Daniel Graham was blocking him. Morris immediately fell to the ground, removed his helmet and was then taken off the field on a golf cart.
“It’s not an ACL, I do know that,” Dungy said. “It’s a tendon injury, but I don’t know the extent of it.”
Utecht left the Broncos game with a concussion.
An already banged-up Buffalo defense took more hits.
Backup linebacker Kevin Harrison is lost for the season because of a knee injury. Starting safety Jim Leonhard and starting cornerback Ashton Youboty are likely to miss next Monday night’s game against Dallas.
All three were hurt in Buffalo’s 17-14 win over the Jets.
Leonhard has started the last three games for Ko Simpson, who was placed on injured reserve with a broken ankle sustained in the season opener. Youboty has also started the last three games since Jason Webster broke his forearm in the Bills’ opening day loss to Denver. Webster was placed on IR, as well.
Harrison was signed just before the Jets game to add depth at linebacker. Rookie Paul Posluszny (broken forearm) is out for the year, while starter Keith Ellison (high ankle sprain) and backup Coy Wire (knee) remain hobbled.
Ellison, Wire and backup defensive end Ryan Denney (broken foot) all could return following the team’s bye after the Dallas game.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, inactive against Pittsburgh, was scheduled to see a doctor about his hip injury on Monday.
“Every time he picks his leg up or moves his leg out, he’s having a little bit of pain,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “It got better. But we just want to make sure that there’s not something going on in there that we don’t know about. If it’s just the pain and he can push through it, then that’ll give us a better chance to evaluate him this week.”
Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry had an MRI on his knee and ankle after being injured at Indianapolis. His status won’t be known until later this week.
Henry ran for 121 yards in the Broncos’ 38-20 loss to the Colts Sunday before leaving the game cringing after an unspecified injury. He returned for limited action in the fourth quarter and finished with 131 yards.
The winless Rams added several players to an already lengthy injured list. Quarterback Marc Bulger, nursing two broken ribs and coming off the first sub-50 percent passing day of his career, was not on the list.
Coach Scott Linehan has no thought of resting Bulger, who has thrown four interceptions, totaled 230 yards passing and produced zero touchdowns the last two weeks while operating behind an injury-riddled line. The Rams have a capable backup in Gus Frerotte, but Linehan is banking on Bulger’s track record helping the team escape its spiral.
“Logic sometimes isn’t always the answer for a number of reasons,” Linehan said. “I go back on past experience with the player and he’s played extremely well.
Bulger was lifted late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 35-7 loss to the Cowboys after going 11-for-24 for 114 yards. Both he and the coaching staff refuse to use the rib injuries as an excuse.
“Marc says ‘Hey, I can go,”’ offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “I believe in Marc Bulger and I believe his word.
Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis was limited in practice Monday despite a full week to rest after a bye because of concern over his persistently ailing knee.
“His knee is still a little agitated and we’ll see how it goes this week,” Gibbs said. “It was just a soreness that came out of that (Giants) game.”
The Seattle Seahawks lost Alvis Pearman, who was emerging as a valuable special teams player, for the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
San Diego Chargers coach Norv Turner said fullback Andrew Pinnock had arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out three to four weeks. Left tackle Marcus McNeill has a sprained MCL in his left knee and will be limited in practice this week, as will defensive tackle Jamal Williams (sore knee) and wide receiver Craig Davis (strained ankle tendon). Linebacker Marques Harris has a slight concussion.
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