CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wide receiver Steve Smith was suspended for two games by the Panthers after a training camp fight with cornerback Ken Lucas.
Smith, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, will continue to practice when camp resumes Monday and will be allowed to participate in preseason games, coach John Fox said Saturday.
“What (Smith) did was wrong and we take very serious, and he is being punished severely for it,” Fox said.
Lucas, who left the practice field Friday with ice over his left eye, has a broken nose, Fox said.
The suspension will cost Smith more than $205,000, a fraction of his base salary. Fox also issued a stern warning to Smith.
“He is still ours and he will have conditions,” Fox said. “He knows what those are and we will move forward.”
Dolphins in dire straits
DAVIE, Fla. — The Dolphins are more than a week into training camp, and their search for a starting quarterback is still a mess.
The Dolphins held their first scrimmage Saturday, though the best quarterback in the team’s practice bubble might have been retired Hall of Famer Dan Marino. Neither of Miami’s three quarterbacks — Josh McCown, John Beck and rookie Chad Henne — separated himself from the pack.
Play from Miami’s three signed quarterbacks has been so inconsistent the team even resorted to working out Quincy Carter, an Arena Football League quarterback who started for the Cowboys and Jets before poor play and drug-related arrests ended his NFL career after the 2004 season.
Favre standoff continues
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Commissioner Roger Goodell hopes to have Brett Favre’s standoff with the Packers resolved by Monday.
“Both parties are talking,” Goodell said. “I hope we have something resolved by Monday. I think we’ve gotten to the point where we kind of have to force it.”
• The Packers agreed to terms with running back Ryan Grant on a four-year deal that could be worth up to $30 million.
Footnotes.
The Colts will be without 14 players when they face the Redskins in tonight’s Hall of Fame game, including two- time league MVP Peyton Manning and record-setting receiver Marvin Harrison.
• The Patriots signed offensive lineman Barry Stokes and placed Anthony Clement on injured reserve with a knee injury.
• Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, the Chiefs’ top draft pick, sprained his left knee and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Also, rookie left tackle Branden Albert, a first-round pick out of Virginia, could miss the rest of Chiefs camp with a sprained foot.
• Rookie center Doug Legursky re-signed with the Steelers while rookie kicker Julian Rauch was released.
• With rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen lost for the foreseeable future, the Bills signed free-agent linebacker Donnie Spragan, who spent the past three seasons with Miami.
The Associated Press
