Oakland Raiders

TITANS LOSE TOP PICK DAY AFTER SIGNING (7:36 p.m. ET)
The Tennessee Titans' top draft pick is in training camp, but a sore hamstring has landed wide receiver Kenny Britt on the physically unable to perform list.

Britt reached agreed Saturday night on a five-year deal worth a little more than $12 million. He was just 10 miles away, so he was in camp Sunday.

But team officials checking out the former Rutgers receiver found the hamstring wasn't completely healed. So Britt walked out for his first practice with a slight limp and watched as his teammates worked without him.

Coach Jeff Fisher said he isn't sure how long Britt stays on the list and that it could be up to a week. That should keep Britt out of the Titans' preseason opener Aug. 9 in the Hall of Fame game against Buffalo.

-- The Associated Press

CARDS' FITZGERALD GETTING ATTENTION (7:21 p.m. ET)
Larry Fitzgerald is a reluctant rock star in Flagstaff.

Packs of young fans, most wearing his No. 11 jersey, chant "Larry, Larry" as he coasts by on his electric Segway two-wheeler like some Roman gladiator in a chariot.

The All-Pro receiver would rather just do his job and walk away, but he stops to sign autographs. He is adjusting to the adoration that that comes with his status as one of the biggest of the rising young stars in the NFL.

"I talked to Michael Jordan one time," Fitzgerald said. "I said, 'Mike how do you deal with all of this?' He said 'If you don't want it, stop catching passes,' and I'm not going to do that, so it kind of comes with the territory."

-- The Associated Press

WILLIAMS APPLAUDS SAINTS' SCRAPPINESS (6:35 p.m. ET)
When a scuffle erupted on the practice field, new Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams looked downright giddy.

As tempers calmed and a tangle of tussling players broke up, Williams laughed, hopped over toward a few members of his unit and offered some congratulatory slaps on the shoulder pads.

It wasn't so much the scrap that Williams was celebrating, but the scrappiness that led to it.

Williams understands that he was hired to improve a unit that was seen as a liability last season, when the Saints finished with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs despite having the most prolific offense in the NFL. He figured the best way to turn that around was to instill a mentality in which his unit attempts to "win" every practice against Drew Brees and his talented corps of playmakers.

"We grade the practice on who won on every single play," Williams said. "This is not a real complicated game. Guys who play hard, guys who do what you ask them to do all the time are going to have a chance if they're smart and tough. So far, I've seen good toughness."

-- The Associated Press

JETS READY TO SEE GHOLSTON'S POWER (6:32 p.m. ET)
Vernon Gholston stormed through on a blitz and shoved center Nick Mangold back on his heels during a recent New York Jets training camp practice.

It was the type of fierce and powerful move the Jets and their fans have expected from the muscle-bound linebacker since he was taken with the sixth overall draft pick last year.

"I think Nick was surprised by it, and he gave him a little extra shot at the end of the play," coach Rex Ryan said Sunday between practices. "If he can move Nick Mangold like that, he could move anybody."

The problem for Gholston is that those moments have been rare. He was expected immediately to boost the Jets' pass rush last season but finished with no sacks and saw limited time on the field.

"Did I do all I wanted to do? Probably not," said Gholston, who found himself mainly a special-teams player. "But the biggest thing for me, I never look back on the past. I always look forward."

Mark Sanchez took snaps with the first-team offense for the first time in the morning session, and Ryan said the rookie quarterback will get more work there as camp progresses. Sanchez worked exclusively with the second team in the afternoon.

-- The Associated Press

BROWNS PAYING FOR MISTAKES (6:16 p.m. ET)
Eric Mangini has the Cleveland Browns running in circles.

As punishment for mental mistakes, fumbles and various other on-the-field transgressions, Mangini is making his players run laps during practice.

Drop a pass, take a lap. Jump offside, take a lap. Commit a penalty, off you go.

On Sunday, following two straight false-start penalties and a bad snap from center during team drills, Mangini sent Cleveland's entire offense -- the 11 who were on the field and all the players watching from the sideline -- on a run around the perimeter of one field.

-- The Associated Press

WAYNE READY FOR COLTS' CONSTRUCTION (6:03 p.m. ET)
Peyton Manning drove to from Indianapolis to Terre Haute, and first-round draft pick Donald Brown reported on time Sunday.

On another day, either appearance -- or Jim Caldwell's first training camp as Indianapolis' head coach -- might have trumped Reggie Wayne's comic routine.

Not a chance. The Pro Bowl receiver with the penchant for grand entrances got everybody's attention again by hitching a ride on a yellow dump truck, honking the horn to announce his arrival and delivering a loud, clear message.

"As you can see, we're under construction," he said. "I'm here ready to work. I've got my lunch box and I'm ready to go."

Wayne had the gig down flat -- from the dirty shoes to the safety goggles. He wore a white T-shirt, black pants, an orange construction vest and a belt to carry his hammer.

The custom-made helmet had the words "Wayne's Construction" and "Super Bowl under construction" screen-printed across the front and side. And when the truck proceeded slowly down a small hill and pulled up in front of the dorm rooms at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, teammates knew it could only be one guy.

-- The Associated Press

MONEY BECOMING ISSUE FOR STEELERS (5:45 p.m. ET)
James Harrison got his money, and so did Hines Ward and Heath Miller. Max Starks, Chris Kemoeatu and Trai Essex cashed in, too.

Here's the potential problem for the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers: Casey Hampton, Jeff Reed, Willie Parker, Brett Keisel and Ryan Clark are assured of one more season's worth of paychecks, but no more.

No NFL champion in the salary-cap era can retain every player, keep everyone financially satisfied, or prevent some players from leaving for more money elsewhere once their contracts expire.

When a team wins two Super Bowls in four seasons, however, asking prices go up. Player values rise. Feelings become hurt when contracts aren't offered. And a player entering the final season of a contract sometimes worries about a potential serious injury that might end his career before he lands another deal.

The Steelers have an unusually high number of core players unsigned past this season, and they include some of their most important players: Parker, three times a 1,000-yard rusher; Keisel, the reliable defensive end; Reed, who has missed only six of 56 field goal attempts the last two seasons, and Clark, the most physical member of their secondary.

-- The Associated Press

GIANTS' INJURIES ALREADY BUILDING UP (4:25 p.m. ET)
The New York Giants placed linebacker Michael Boley and defensive tackle Fred Robbins on the active physically unable to perform list and put defensive tackle Rocky Bernard on the non-football injury list.

The moves with Boley (hip) and Robbins (knee) on Sunday were expected because the two had undergone surgery.

Bernard, who like Boley signed with the Giants as a free agent in the offseason, was a surprise. He was bothered by his shoulder in a minicamp in June, coach Tom Coughlin said. The shoulder healed, but Bernard, who signed a four-year, $16 million contract, hurt his hamstring working out on his own after the minicamp.

All three are eligible to start training once they are healthy.

-- The Associated Press

TITANS' WHITE ON EFFECTIVE WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM (3:35 p.m. ET)
LenDale White lost more than 30 pounds this offseason and is in his fourth training camp with the Tennessee Titans at his slimmest weight since high school. The running back admits he wishes he had understood earlier in his career the importance of being in shape.

Just how did he lose the weight? White gave up tequila.

"I really got to be honest," White said. "It wasn't a lot of major diet changes. [It was] watching what I drink. I was a big Patron consumer. … That's what it was. I was drinking a lot, drank a lot of alcohol. I cut that out of my diet all the way. I don't drink at all. I cut the drinking, I stopped drinking for six months.

"It started falling off."

White committed to losing weight after the Titans' playoff loss to Baltimore in January, and he was as low as 229 pounds during the offseason program. The running back, whose draft stock dropped him from a potential top-15 pick coming out of the University of Southern California in 2006 to the second round, had plenty of doubters about whether he could show up at camp still lean.

Despite an occasional glass of wine with dinner, White reported at 228 pounds. That won him bets from friends, family and even teammates who were convinced he couldn't stay out of trouble.

-- The Associated Press

REFLECTIVE SMITH READY TO LEAD PANTHERS (3:06 p.m. ET)
Arriving at Panthers training camp, Steve Smith tackled the issue that has sometimes overshadowed his four Pro Bowl selections: his temper.

"Everybody in this circle, football players and football fans, kind of know what happened last year. I'm just dealing with that," Smith said. "I'm just kind of kicking myself coming down here."

Then Smith acknowledged that turning 30 in May was significant. Already the holder of several team career records, he knows he's closer to the end than the beginning. He feels he must fill a larger role on a team that went 12-4 last season before a shocking home playoff loss to Arizona.

"I really have to take my role and my position on this team and become a better leader and a more responsible leader and enjoy this time, because it will pass," Smith said.

-- The Associated Press

TEXANS' CUSHING LEARNING TO SLOW DOWN (3:01 p.m. ET)
On his first day at Houston Texans training camp, Brian Cushing got some simple advice from All-Pro linebacker DeMeco Ryans.

Slow down.

Cushing, the Texans' first-round draft pick, was eager to make an impression after missing the first two days as his contract was finalized. He flew from Los Angeles to Houston on Saturday and signed his contract about 7 a.m. Sunday.

"It was driving me crazy. It was stressful," said Cushing, the 15th overall pick. "It's part of the business, I guess, to get the deal all worked out and everything. You just want to get back on the field, get better and ready for the season. I'm here now, and that's what's important."

Cushing played outside linebacker, mostly alongside Ryans, with the first-team defense Sunday. Ryans, the defensive rookie of the year two years ago and a starter in the 2008 Pro Bowl, sensed that Cushing was impatient to learn the Texans' schemes and blitzes.

"What I told him to do was just take it slow," Ryans said. "Let everything come to you, don't try to do it all at once. There's a lot on your plate. It's asking a lot to come in and just get going right off the bat."

-- The Associated Press

BROWNS TACKLE ROGERS LIMITED BY INJURY (2:31 p.m. ET)
Browns Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers was limited during practice Sunday with an unspecified injury.

Rogers, who is coming off a dominant first season with Cleveland, was in full uniform but only rode a stationary bike and did other conditioning work while the Browns went through their second day of training camp. Rogers pedaled alongside wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who has not yet been medically cleared with an unknown injury.

Rogers had 81 tackles and 4½ sacks last season. He played seven seasons with Detroit before being traded to Cleveland in 2008.

On Saturday, Rogers seemed to favor his right ankle during the evening practice session. At one point, he sat down on the sideline and could be heard complaining about his cleats.