GIANTS
Cruz out against Bills
New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said Victor Cruz will not play on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills and he offered no timeline for when the wide receiver could return.
“He tried it, he didn’t make it, and he will not be able to play this week,” Coughlin said Thursday. “Obviously we’re all disappointed in that, but we choose to take the road that we really don’t have a lot of choice in, which means get him back in rehab, get him back to work, and see when we can get him back on the field.”
That was supposed to be this week. Cruz was geared up for his 2015 debut and his first game action since last October when he tore his patellar tendon. A calf injury had sidelined him since mid-August, but after several workouts on the side he appeared ready to rejoin the team. On Wednesday, though, he was unable to get through the earliest drills of the practice.
It’s the same left calf that has been holding him back for the past six weeks, Coughlin said. He had an MRI on it, but Coughlin did not have any details from that test.
That leaves the Giants with just four healthy wide receivers: Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle, Dwayne Harris and rookie Geremy Davis.
BEARS
QB decision Sunday
The Chicago Bears are preparing for the possibility that quarterback Jimmy Clausen must start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, while hoping Jay Cutler continues to heal quickly from the strained hamstring he suffered Sept. 20.
A decision on Cutler’s availability appears increasingly likely to be finalized Sunday morning.
“We’ve still got a couple days left,” Cutler said after Thursday’s practice. “I don’t think we’re exactly where we want to be, but no one really is 100 percent healthy right now.”
Cutler’s mobility and, more specifically, his ability to protect himself are at issue.
“If you do come back on a hamstring earlier than you want to, it’s definitely in the back of your mind because there’s that slight pull,” he said. “It’s an instinctual game out there, so you’re doing things on the run without thinking. To have to worry about a hamstring and moving around is something that could weigh on you.”
COLTS
Luck should start
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck was listed as a limited participant in practice Thursday for the second consecutive day with a sore right shoulder.
He’s still expected to start Sunday against Jacksonville (1-2).
Luck and Coach Chuck Pagano do not usually speak to reporters after Thursday practices, and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton deferred all comments about injuries to Pagano.
Backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said his workload was about the same as Wednesday, when Luck took a rare day off. Hasselbeck said he was certain Luck would play.
Luck was injured in last weekend’s 35-33 victory at Tennessee.
The fourth-year quarterback has never missed a start since Indy (1-2) took him with the first pick of the 2012 draft.
JAGUARS
DE Branch returns
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars should get some much-needed help on defense this week.
Defensive end Andre Branch made it through a second consecutive practice Thursday without any setbacks, clearing the way for him to make his season debut at Indianapolis on Sunday.
Branch has been sidelined since spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee on Aug. 29, in a preseason game against Detroit.
“I just put my head down and went to work and got back earlier than planned,” Branch said.
Without Branch, the Jaguars (1-2) have six sacks and 12 quarterback hurries this season. He’s unlikely to play extended snaps against the Colts, but his return gets Jacksonville closer to full strength on the defensive front. The Jaguars are still waiting on tackle Sen’Derrick Marks to fully recover from knee surgery.
NFL
Rookies of month
NEW YORK — Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and Bills cornerback Ronald Darby are the NFL’s rookies of the month for September.
The NFL announced the honors Thursday.
Mariota, the No. 2 pick overall out of Oregon, becomes the first Titans quarterback to earn offensive rookie of the month honors. Mariota led all rookies with 833 yards passing, eight touchdowns and a passer rating of 109.2 He tied Mark Rypien for the most TDs by any player in his first three NFL games.
He also was the first rookie in NFL history to post a perfect passer rating on the opening weekend in a 42-14 win at Tampa Bay.
Darby, a second-round pick out of Florida State, is tied for the NFL lead with two interceptions. He also led all players with eight passes defensed. Buffalo won both games where Darby intercepted a pass, and his first came in the first quarter of his NFL debut. He started all three games in September and became the first Bills defensive back with at least two interceptions in a season since Jairus Byrd (nine) and Cary Harris (two) in 2009.
The rookie joins Leodis McKelvin as the only Bills cornerbacks to be named defensive rookie of the month. McKelvin earned the honor in November 2008.
This is the third consecutive season a Bills rookie has been named rookie of the month. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins won the offensive rookie award in October 2014 and linebacker Kiko Alonso was the defensive rookie in September 2013.