Advertisement

NFL Roundup: Manning sits out practice

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning did not practice with the team Wednesday because of an ankle injury but is expected to play Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

Manning was on the field but not wearing pads or participating in drills.

"It's nothing serious, just sore," coach John Fox said. "We wanted to make sure it was healed up."

Fox was unsure when Manning got hurt, and he refused to say which ankle was ailing. "I don't have to tell you that," he said with a laugh.

Manning said sitting out practice wasn't easy for him.

"I can assure you I didn't go down without a fight, but hopefully use the day to get a little better, feel a little better (Thursday) and look forward to hopefully being out there (Thursday)," Manning said.

Manning was hit repeatedly during Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts and took one particularly hard shot from former teammate Robert Mathis on a safety.

---Michael Vick will start Sunday against the New York Giants, unless his injured left hamstring prevents the quarterback from reclaiming the No. 1 job with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Vick has missed the last two games because a hamstring injury. He was a full practice participant for the second straight day Wednesday and took most of the first-team reps, which would seem to indicate that he will start this weekend.

But coach Chip Kelly still isn't ready to etch that in stone. He said Vick still hasn't really tried to run hard, and he's not ready to say for sure that Vick will start.

Part of that is an attempt to keep the Giants guessing, even though Vick's backup, Nick Foles, is out because of a concussion, and rookie Matt Barkley threw three interceptions last week after replacing Foles.

But a bigger part is that Vick still hasn't completely recovered from his hamstring injury, and Kelly wants to make sure the 33-year-old quarterback isn't at risk of aggravating it further by playing.

It's unlikely that Foles, who completed only 11-of-29 passes in last week's loss to the Cowboys before he was injured, will be cleared in time to play Sunday.

So the only option the Eagles have if Vick doesn't go is Barkley.

The Eagles signed former University of Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne to their practice squad earlier this week. Kinne was with the Eagles during spring OTAs and training camp before being released.

If Vick and Foles both can't play, Barkley would start and Kinne would be promoted from the practice squad and back him up.

Foles' atrocious performance against the Cowboys pretty much eliminated his chances of taking the starting job from Vick. He played about as poorly as you can possibly play, missing wide-open receivers and averaged only 2.76 yards per pass before being injured when he was sacked by Cowboys defensive linemen George Selvie and Jarius Wynn.

---NFL hearing officer Ted Cottrell reduced the suspension of Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather from two games to one.

Meriweather has been at the center of a number of repeated hits to the head this season, including hard stops of Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett, which prompted the NFL to suspend him for two games, NFL.com reported.

Meriweather was penalized twice in the Redskins' Week 7 win against the Chicago Bears for using his helmet to spear and hit Bears receivers Marshall and Bennett in the head and neck area.

Marshall publicly criticized Meriweather's play afterward, while Bennett told reporters he'd like to punch Meriweather in the face.

Because he is a repeat offender, Meriweather drew the unprecedented two-game suspension, but then appealed.

---The Washington Redskins re-signed free agent safety Jordan Pugh just a week after he was released. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pugh played in 16 regular-season games and one playoff game in 2012 and 2013 before his release on Oct. 15 as part of the Redskins' push to upgrade their special teams. He has seen action in three games this season but does not have a tackle.

Re-signing Pugh reflects the Redskins' uncertainty at safety this week because of a one-game suspension that Brandon Meriweather faces and the status of Reed Doughty (concussion).

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Pugh was drafted in the sixth round out of Texas A&M by the Carolina Panthers in 2010 and was cut before the start of the 2012 season. He then signed with the Redskins.

---Jason Campbell is in and Brandon Weeden is out as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback.

Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said he is turning to the veteran Campbell for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs in place of Weeden, who struggled after Brian Hoyer went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 5.

Campbell, 32, last started a game for the Chicago Bears in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in November 2012. He becomes the Browns' 20th starting quarterback since 1999 and the team's third in 2013 as the season reaches the halfway point. He started six games for the Oakland Raiders in 2011 before suffering a knee injury.

Campbell draws a tough first assignment against the unbeaten Chiefs, who lead the NFL in sacks with 35.

Weeden, a first-round draft pick in 2012, completed only 17-of-42 passes for 149 yards with one touchdown and one interception last Sunday in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. He ranks 32nd in the league in completion percentage and 30th in passer rating.

The Browns are 0-4 in games that Weeden started this season.

---Veteran defensive end Andre Carter signed with the New England Patriots after a tryout Monday in Foxborough.

Carter, 34, had 10 sacks in 2011 but wasn't re-signed after suffering a torn quadriceps muscle. Carter played in 12 games last season with 2.5 sacks for the Oakland Raiders.

In 12 NFL seasons, Carter has played in 175 career games with 147 starts and has accumulated 517 total tackles, 66 sacks, 30 passes defensed, 15 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He has registered double-digit sack totals three times in his career with a career-high 12.5 in 2002 with the 49ers and 10.5 in 2007 and 11.0 in 2009 with the Redskins.

In other player movement, defensive tackle Sealver Siliga was signed to the Patriots practice squad. Cornerback Travis Howard was released from the practice squad.

---The St. Louis Rams added two quarterbacks to their roster Tuesday when they brought back Austin Davis and signed veteran Brady Quinn.

To make room for the pair on the active roster, the Rams released offensive lineman Brandon Washington and placed starting quarterback Sam Bradford on injured reserve. Bradford suffered a season-ending knee injury against Carolina on Sunday.

The Rams also released linebacker Jonathan Stewart from the practice squad.

Davis and Quinn will be expected to serve as backups to Kellen Clemens, who was named Monday by coach Jeff Fisher as the starter.

Davis spent 2012 as the third quarterback in St. Louis and spent this summer with the Rams as well before being cut after Clemens won the battle for the backup spot.

Quinn was cut by the Jets on Monday when they activated David Garrard.

---Josh Freeman's first game as the Minnesota Vikings' starting quarterback did not go so well on the field, and the team announced he suffered a concussion that could keep him out of Sunday night's game against the Green Bay Packers.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said via Twitter that Freeman's status is up in the air. If he is unable to play, Christian Ponder likely would be back in the starting lineup for the home matchup against the Packers.

Freeman will be required to pass concussion protocol tests required by the NFL to be cleared for action. In the meantime, the Vikings are turning back to Ponder, who has not started since Week 3. Matt Cassel will be the backup.

Frazier said he saw no signs of Freeman's head injury during the loss to the New York Giants on Monday night in the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback's first start after signing 12 days earlier with the Vikings. Freeman struggled against the Giants, completing 20-of-53 passes for 193 yards an interception.

Freeman thinks the injury occurred during the third quarter but said he never told the team about any symptoms until Tuesday.

---The New York Giants placed center David Baas on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in Monday night's win over the Vikings.

Baas had just returned from a three-game absence due to a neck injury when he was hurt on the final snap of the Giants' first offensive series Monday.

Jim Cordle, who started the three games Baas missed earlier this season, will move into the starting lineup fulltime.

Baas is the second Giants offensive lineman to land on injured reserve this season, joining right guard Chris Snee (hip, Oct. 4).

---Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins returned to practice with the Cincinnati Bengals on a roster exemption.

Hawkins is on injured reserve because of an ankle injury suffered during the preseason but is designated for possible return under NFL rules.

He will be able to practice with the team for three weeks without being counted on the Bengals' 53-player active roster.

A third-year pro, Hawkins saw action in 14 games last season and was the team's third leading receiver with 51 receptions for 533 yards and four touchdowns.