Fiedler's status still up in air

By Associated Press, 10/21/2003

Miami quarterback Jay Fiedler has a sprained ligament in his left knee and was undergoing tests yesterday to determine the extent of the injury.

Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said no update on Fiedler's condition would be made before tomorrow. Wannstedt also would not speculate how long Fiedler would be sidelined -- if at all -- because of the injury suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 19-13 overtime loss to the Patriots.

If Fiedler can't play, backup Brian Griese would start next Monday night at San Diego. Griese, signed in the offseason as a free agent, has not taken any game snaps since last season.

"When that player has something like this, it's not unusual for him to experience some swelling, soreness, stiffness, maybe even some looseness to his knee," Dolphins trainer Kevin O'Neill said. "Each player responds to it differently."

Pennington to play, not start

Chad Pennington will make his return to the New York Jets Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, although not as the starter. Coach Herman Edwards said yesterday that Vinny Testaverde will start at quarterback, and Pennington will enter the game off the bench. Pennington has missed the whole year after breaking his left wrist Aug. 23 in an exhibition game against the New York Giants. Edwards said he wants to get Testaverde in the flow of the game before putting Pennington in. He made the decision to start Testaverde because he does not know whether Pennington is in condition to play four quarters . . . Washington Redskins running back Ladell Betts has a broken left forearm and most likely will miss at least one game. Betts's arm was hit by a helmet while he was carrying the ball during the first half of Washington's 24-7 loss Sunday at Buffalo. Betts made his first NFL start against the Bills, replacing Trung Canidate, who sat out with a sprained right ankle. Quarterback Patrick Ramsey left Sunday's game in the fourth quarter with a bruised right (throwing) hand and a bruised hip, but X-rays were negative. The Redskins are off this week, and play at Dallas Nov. 2 . . . Brett Favre has a broken right thumb, but it's not serious and shouldn't prevent him from continuing his NFL quarterbacks record 197-game starting streak after this week's bye. The Packers (3-4) travel to Minnesota to face the undefeated Vikings Nov. 2.

Broncos will call on Kanell

The Denver Broncos sure hope Jake Plummer is a quick healer. Plummer will miss at least three more weeks with a broken foot, Steve Beuerlein will miss at least five weeks after he went out with a broken finger Sunday, and the only healthy quarterback -- Danny Kanell -- hasn't started an NFL game in nearly three years. The Broncos lost Beuerlein in the third quarter of Sunday's 28-20 loss to Minnesota and finished one injury away from having receiver Rod Smith fill in at quarterback. Denver also was without linebacker Ian Gold, who's out for the season with a knee injury, and left tackle Ephraim Salaam will likely miss the next two games due to knee surgery. The injuries are piling up and the schedule doesn't get any easier with Baltimore Sunday and the Patriots the following week . . . Marshall Faulk will be back on the practice field this week for the St. Louis Rams, although he's not likely to play Sunday at Pittsburgh. Faulk has missed three games with a broken left hand and torn cartilage in his right knee. When he was injured the team said the hand would be more of a factor in his return, but coach Mike Martz said that Faulk still has to prove his leg is strong enough to play . . . There's room for running backs Travis Henry and Willis McGahee in the Bills backfield. Team president Tom Donahoe doesn't intend to alter his plans despite Henry's career performance in keying Buffalo's 24-7 victory over Washington. Henry sparked Sunday's win with a career-high 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns, reinvigorating a sputtering running attack that had been averaging less than 58 yards per game. If all goes well for first-round draft pick McGahee, who's coming off knee ligament surgery, he could be placed on the Bills' active roster by Nov. 5 . . . Carson Palmer has moved up in the Cincinnati Bengals' depth chart to backup quarterback, but he'll remain there as long as Jon Kitna keeps doing what he has for the past three games. Kitna threw three touchdown passes Sunday in a 34-26 victory over Baltimore and has led the Bengals (2-4) to two wins in the last three games . . . Philadelphia Eagles guard Jermane Mayberry isn't expected to play against the New York Jets Sunday because of a strained elbow.