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Sam Bradford will have to wait a few days to learn if he'll start the St. Louis Rams' opener. The No. 1 pick certainly has appeared ready for the job. Bradford's opening drive set the tone for a 27-21 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, giving the Rams a 3-1 preseason finish for the second straight season.

A person familiar with the injury tells The Associated Press that Denver Broncos tailback LenDale White has a ruptured Achilles' tendon and is out for the season.

Patriots receiver Wes Welker says he is a “long ways off” from how he felt before knee surgery.

The Arizona Cardinals have traded starting guard Reggie Wells to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed draft pick. Wells had started the last 90 games for Arizona, dating to the 2003 season, as well as the team's six postseason games, but was moved from left guard to right guard this year following the signing of free agent Alan Faneca.

Neil Paine at the Pro-Football-Reference.com blog has put together a formula estimating passing and rushing YAR for every quarterback in every game dating back to 1970, and has posted the top 100 here. Results are adjusted for era, but not opponent, although that likely wouldn't change anything at the top of the list -- the best game is so ridiculously off the charts that the No. 2 game is closer to No. 100 than it is to No. 1.

Broncos backup RB LenDale White suffered a torn Achilles' tendon in the team's preseason finale at Minnesota and is expected to be out for the season. White was signed in August after injuries befell the Broncos' primary rushers, Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter. [...]

Read more LenDale White news

The Eagles acquired some offensive line depth on Friday, trading for OG Reggie Wells from the Cardinals in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice.

Philadelphia has been desperate for interior-line help with injuries to centers Jamaal Jackson and Nick Cole, forcing backup Mike McGlynn to shift over from his natural spot at left guard. Wells, 29, has played his entire career with Arizona, starting 90 games over the past seven seasons.

"We're adding a player that has started several seasons in the National Football League and has played at a very high level during the course of his career," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said. "He has experience at several different positions along the offensive line and he will be a welcome addition to that group. You can never have enough depth at that position as you go through an NFL season."

The Cardinals no longer needed Wells' services following the signing of free-agent OLG Allen Faneca in the offseason. Veteran Deuce Lutui is the starting right guard for Arizona.

The Eagles also announced they have placed DE Victor Abiamiri on the Reserve/PUP list and released 10 players: RB?J.J. Arrington, WR?Dobson Collins, DE?Pannel Egboh, TE?Nate Lawrie, RB?Martell Mallett, OT?Jeraill McCuller, CB?David Pender, CB?Geoff Pope, DT?Boo Robinson and S?Anthony Scirrotto.
 
By being placed on the Reserve/PUP list, Abiamiri is not eligible to play in the team's first six regular-season games. After the sixth game, the team has three weeks to decide whether to activate him to the 53-man roster. If he is not activated during that time period, he is placed on the season-ending injured reserve list.
 
By releasing Arrington, the Eagles will now receive a 2012 sixth-round draft pick from the Broncos as compensation for the trade of LB Joe Mays to Denver on July 30.
 
The Eagles currently have 65 players on their active roster. 

 

For authoritative coverage and analysis of NFL news, free agency and fantasy football, visit ProFootballWeekly.com.

Ben Roethlisberger is getting time off for good behavior. He'll be back on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers two games earlier than expected after convincing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell he is turning his life around. The star quarterback, accompanied by team president Art Rooney, met with Goodell early Friday and was told he could return on Oct.

Mark Clayton has said that he won't seek retribution against Antrel Rolle, but the same can't be said for the NFL.Bob Glauber of Newsday wrote on his Twitter account (BobGlauber) Friday afternoon that the league levied the New York Giants safety with a fine of $7,500 for delivering a concussion-inducing hit against the Ravens wide receiver during the teams' third preseason game on Aug. 28.Clayton, who has not practiced since that contest, has said that he harbors no ill will towards Rolle, who called Clayton last Sunday to check on his condition and apologize for the blow."It's football, stuff like that happens," Clayton said Monday.

Read more Antrel Rolle news

We noted on Wednesday that the Cardinals had a better chance of trading guard Reggie Wells than Matt Leinart, even if the move was a long shot.On Friday, they found a taker.  The Eagles acquired Wells to add to their...

Read more Reggie Wells news

Antrel Rolle's crushing hit on Ravens wide receiver Mark Clayton last week delivered a blow to the New York Giants safety's paycheck.The NFL fined Rolle $7,500 on Friday.Rolle's hit to Clayton's head came in Saturday's preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium and gave Clayton a concussion. Rolle was penalized for hitting a defenseless receiver, since the ball had already sailed past Clayton. That was a point of emphasis in the offseason.A few days later, Clayton said Rolle shouldn't be fined. "It's football, stuff like that happens," Clayton said earlier in the week.

Read more Antrel Rolle news

Raiders RB Darren McFadden said recently that he was ready for 25 carries. And I thought, you know, that is a nice modest goal for McFadden to reach for this season.

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The Bears cut FS Al Afalava on Friday, which means that S Josh Bullocks likely will make the final 53-man roster as a backup in the secondary.

ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson reported that Afalava, a second-year player, was cut along with CB Cornelius Brown and LB Kelvin Smith. Special-teams ace Tim Shaw and LB Kevin Malast also were let go, according to PFW's Bears correspondent Bob LeGere.

Afalava started 13 games for the Bears in 2009 and recorded 70 tackles and one forced fumble. Bullocks, a six-year veteran drafted by the Saints in ’05, started four games in '09 but has been hampered by injuries this preseason.

Bullocks will join rookie Major Wright as backups to FS Chris Harris.

 

For authoritative coverage and analysis of NFL news, free agency and fantasy football, visit ProFootballWeekly.com.

Steelers QB Byron Leftwich suffered a left knee injury in the second quarter of Pittsburgh's preseason game against Carolina on Thursday night. Reports on Friday indicate that he suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen said it was a second-degree sprain, which is not a complete tear. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh News-Gazette reported that Leftwich will miss 2-4 weeks.

Leftwich, vying with Dennis Dixon to be the Steelers' starting quarterback while Ben Roethlisberger serves a four-game suspension to begin the regular season, suffered the injury as he completed an 18-yard pass to rookie Emmanuel Sanders. Leftwich was replaced by Dixon, who threw a 23-yard TD to Sanders on the Steelers' next series.

Leftwich was the favorite to replace Roethlisberger entering training camp, but Dixon has played well in the preseason and received work with the first-team offense against Denver in the Steelers' third preseason game. 

Dixon's lone NFL start came last season at Baltimore with Roethlisberger missing the game with a concussion. He completed 12-of-26 passes for 145 yards with one TD and rushed for a TD as well. However, he threw an interception in overtime, and the Ravens capitalized with the game-winning field goal.

If Leftwich indeed misses the opener, Dixon and Charlie Batch will be the Steelers' top two quarterbacks. Batch appeared in one game last season, relieving the injured Roethlisberger at Kansas City, but he sustained a broken wrist. Batch missed the '08 season with a broken collarbone. Batch, who enters his ninth season with Pittsburgh after four seasons as Detroit's starter, has played well in the preseason and provides an experienced alternative to Dixon.

 

For authoritative coverage and analysis of NFL news, free agency and fantasy football, visit ProFootballWeekly.com.

The Denver Broncos' tailback turnstile keeps on spinning. LenDale White is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles' tendon, a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the Broncos hadn't publicly discussed the results of medical tests on White's right leg.

Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been fined $7,500 by the NFL for his roughing-the-passer penalty on Cleveland quarterback Jake Delhomme.

The Patriots began making their cuts Friday by releasing veteran DL Damione Lewis, according to reports from multiple media outlets. Lewis, an 11-year veteran, was in on only four tackles this preseason.

With the loss of DE Ty Warren (hip) for the season, the Patriots' D-line has some question marks, but clearly the Patriots believed Lewis did not significantly improve the depth on the line.

Lewis started all 16 games last season for the Panthers in 2009 but was a major disappointment this preseason, especially when the Pats could use any help they can get on an injury-riddled defense that also lost starting CB Leigh Bodden for the season with a shoulder injury.

DL Ron Brace, a second-year player out of Boston College, has performed well and likely will be the main backup on the defensive line. Rookie DE Brandon Deaderick and second-year DT Myron Pryor are likely to be the other backups on the line.

 

For authoritative coverage and analysis of NFL news, free agency and fantasy football, visit ProFootballWeekly.com.

This is an open thread for people to announce and discuss final cuts (and IR/PUP moves) as NFL teams go to a 53-man roster by Saturday. Link goes to ESPN NFL transactions page.