ARLINGTON, Texas — COWBOYS Williams' shoulder bruised
Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams has only a bruised shoulder from a hard collision with a teammate, yet still might not play against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
"We'll kind of see how that restricts him as far as the next few days, this weekend and into next week," team owner Jerry Jones said Friday during his radio show. "We'll just play it by ear. He had good movement, good strength in it today, but he was sore."
Williams banged into cornerback Orlando Scandrick while going for a pass near the goal line during a practice at the team's new stadium Thursday night. Xrays showed no broken bones.
The Cowboys could play it safe and keep Williams out of the preseason finale next Friday in Minnesota. Starters don't play much in the last preseason game anyway, and Dallas needs to make sure Williams is at full strength for the opener Sept. 13 at Tampa Bay. After all, he has the crucial role of replacing Terrell Owens as the team's No. 1 receiver.
Although Jones couldn't put a timetable on Williams' return, he said the receiver "will be back real quick ... certainly not enough time to warrant bringing somebody in."
The Cowboys were wearing helmets but not pads in their workout Thursday night. Williams was slow to get up, then left the field angry, likely because of how many times he's been nicked up by Scandrick. During training camp, the second-year cornerback - who is trying to earn a starting job - hit Williams hard enough to send his helmet flying, and the two tangled on a play that ended with Williams spraining his wrist.
Jones said Scandrick didn't do anything wrong.
"The ball was thrown up," he said. "They were going for it."
Receiver Sam Hurd hasn't practiced all week because of a bruised leg, making it unlikely that he'll play against the 49ers.
Dallas made a move Friday to beef up its linebackers unit, which has been depleted by injury. The Cowboys signed Tearrius George, who was on their practice squad last season until joining New Orleans in December. He spent the off-season with Miami but was released Monday.
BRONCOS
WR Marshall suspended
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall, openly unhappy with the Denver Broncos, was suspended by the team for the rest of the preseason for what Coach Josh McDaniels called "detrimental" conduct.
Marshall, who has brooded since demanding a trade and asking for a new contract, was informed of the suspension by McDaniels on Friday. The banishment runs through Sept. 5.
"We tried to handle this situation with Brandon as privately and professionally as we could throughout the entire process with he and his agent, Kennard McGuire," McDaniels said at a news conference. "This morning, we made the decision as an organization to go ahead and suspend Brandon. We'll look forward to having him back on Sept. 6th as we begin our preparations for Cincinnati" in a Sept. 13 opener.
McGuire didn't immediately return a phone call Friday. McGuire was out of the country until Monday.
McDaniels did not single out a specific episode but said the suspension resulted from a series of incidents, though some boorish antics during the team's practice Wednesday - after he had been warned about such conduct that morning - seemed to be the final straw for the coach.
"His actions didn't really change after that warning. That leads us to today," McDaniels said.
During prepractice warm-ups Wednesday, Marshall walked while the rest of the team ran. He punted a ball away instead of handing it to a ball boy and swatted a pass thrown to him. His actions were caught on video and broadcast by KMGH-TV.
Marshall told ESPN on Thursday night he wasn't trying to force a trade through insubordination but that frustration got the best of him.
Marshall, who had 206 receptions the past two seasons, is also upset with what he feels was the team's misdiagnosis of a hip injury that required off-season surgery. He pulled a hamstring during the first weekend of training camp and didn't return until a week ago.
Marshall was held out of practice Thursday, apparently as the organization was formulating its disciplinary response.
"We're trying to handle this in a way that we can discourage this from happening," McDaniels said. "We didn't want to be in this situation. We never wanted it to get to this point. I'm sure they didn't either."
McDaniels said Marshall didn't play against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday because he wasn't prepared to takethe field.
Marshall also missed the team's exhibition opener against San Francisco two weeks ago because he was on trial in Atlanta, where he was acquitted of a misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors had accused him of beating his thengirlfriend.
Marshall hoped the acquittal would give him leverage for a new deal in Denver or elsewhere. He was angered when the Broncos prohibited teammates from saying they were happy for Marshall about the verdict.
That's when Marshall began spending more time between drills with the scout team and the defensive unit instead of his fellow offensive players.
Sports, Pages 26 on 08/29/2009