Jacksonville Jaguars safety Donovin Darius will miss the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Darius tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a punt return, and the team said Tuesday he will have season-ending surgery.
Losing the hard-hitting safety could be a big setback for Jacksonville’s vaunted defense, which has allowed 24 points in two games this season. Four-year veteran Deke Cooper, who started 10 games for the Jaguars in 2003, will replace Darius.
A first-round pick by the Jaguars in 1998, Darius has started 103 games and averaged 80 tackles over seven seasons. He had a career-high 87 tackles and five interceptions last year and holds franchise records with 798 tackles and 19 takeaways.
The Jaguars host the Broncos on Oct. 2.
Ravens: Quarterback Kyle Boller is likely to be out until the end of October with his injured right toe.
Team officials said Boller will not require surgery on the toe, but will need at least another three weeks to heal. The earliest he could return is Oct. 16 against the Cleveland Browns. But it’s more likely he would be back Oct. 23 against the Chicago Bears or Oct. 31 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Chiefs: For the second consecutive week a sore hamstring likely will sideline Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf for Monday night’s game at Denver. Jordan Black, who was switched from right tackle to Roaf’s spot on the left side, again would fill in.
Larry Johnson’s assault case was postponed until Nov. 29, despite objections by the lawyer for the running back.
Johnson was cited for domestic abuse assault last week after an altercation with his girlfriend at a bar. A city prosecutor asked for a continuance, saying a witness was not in court. Johnson’s attorney, Kevin Regan, objected and said he had five witnesses ready to testify. Kansas City (Mo.) Municipal Court Judge Leonard Hughes III said he typically allows prosecutors continuances and would not deviate just because of the high profile of Johnson’s case.
Jets: Running back Curtis Martin should be able to play this weekend against Jacksonville after an MRI on his strained right knee came back negative. Coach Herman Edwards is expected to address the injury today.
Seahawks: Wide receiver Alex Bannister was placed on injured reserve because of a cracked right collarbone, while cornerback and returner Jimmy Williams was signed to a contract.
Eagles: Philadelphia signed kicker Todd France to the practice squad two days after linebacker Mark Simoneau kicked an extra point.
France will back up Pro Bowl kicker David Akers, who is bothered by a hamstring injury and uncertain for Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders.
NFL: A fundraising telethon that featured more than 30 current and former players raised $5 million for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund in about 6 1/2 hours.
Monday night’s telethon was part of the NFL’s “Hurricane Relief Weekend” and coincided with a special “Monday Night Football” doubleheader on ABC and ESPN. Players such as John Elway, Donovan McNabb, Art Shell and Frank Gifford took turns, 12 at a time, spending between 75 minutes to two hours answering telephones and taking donations.
“We appreciate the tremendous response of our fans and everything that our teams and players are doing to support the relief effort,” commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. “We are going to stay at it because all of America is going to have to stay at it.”
NFL teams and relief organizations have raised approximately $4 million from fans at stadiums for Hurricane Katrina relief, the league said, bringing the total generated by the NFL to $21 million.
