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Panthers RB Smith on paid leave after arrest

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Panthers running back Lamar Smith, charged Thursday night with drunken driving, was put on paid leave Friday for the rest of the season.

The team had no choice but to pay Smith. Under league rules, the Panthers could not release him. And even if they could have waived Smith they would have had to pay his weekly salary of $41,176 for each of the remaining five games.

Smith, 31, was stopped Thursday evening by a state trooper on U.S. 29 in Mecklenburg County, N.C. He was charged with driving while impaired, speeding and reckless driving and released on $1,200 bond.

Coach John Fox said he met with Smith Friday morning.

"He made a bad mistake," Fox said. "He was embarrassed and very apologetic about it."

On Dec. 1, 1994, Smith, then a rookie with the Seahawks, was driving with teammates Chris Warren and Mike Frier as passengers when his vehicle hit a pole. Frier broke his neck and was paralyzed below the waist. A February 1996 trial for vehicular assault ended in a mistrial because police, who reportedly thought Warren was driving, failed to test Smith's blood-alcohol level. Two months before another trial was to begin, he entered a guilty plea and served 60 days in a work-release program.

Smith's arrest adds to Carolina's litany of problems. Receiver Steve Smith was suspended for a game on Nov. 20 for a fight with teammate Anthony Bright during a film session. Bright suffered a broken nose, was hospitalized for two nights and filed criminal charges against Smith.

The Panthers also released offensive tackle Chris Terry, who was arrested Nov. 20 for failing to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting his wife.

BRONCOS: Steve Beuerlein will start at quarterback Sunday against San Diego because Brian Griese still is favoring his sprained left knee. Coach Mike Shanahan hoped early in the week that Griese would be able to face the Chargers.

CARDINALS: Injured running back Thomas Jones will not be paid for the remainder of the season. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list, so the team will not be responsible for the roughly $143,000 he would be owed. Jones broke his right hand last week when he struck the edge of a countertop while trying to reach for a telephone at home.

CHARGERS: Receiver Curtis Conway didn't practice and has been bothered by muscle spasms in his injured shoulder. He is questionable for Sunday's home game against Denver.

DOLPHINS: Free safety Brock Marion might miss Sunday's game at Buffalo because of back spasms. He missed practice and is listed as questionable.

PACKERS: Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila intends to be at his wife's side for the birth of their child, though the due date coincides with Green Bay's game against Minnesota. "That's just the due date," Gbaja-Biamila said of Dec. 8, when the Packers and Vikings play a night game. "You don't know when it's going to happen."

Coach Mike Sherman was tight-lipped in response to Gbaja-Biamila's comments.

"I don't have anything in regard to that," Sherman said. "To be honest with you, we haven't talked about it."

PATRIOTS: Coach Bill Belichick said defensive tackle Richard Seymour and linebacker Tedy Bruschi had "sore legs" and their status for the team's Dec. 8 game against Buffalo was unknown. Bruschi hurt his right knee with 2:05 left in the first quarter Thursday against Detroit. Seymour hurt his left thigh in the first half.

RAMS: Rookie Lamar Gordon has recovered from a concussion and is ready to start for the third straight week if running back Marshall Faulk is out again. Coach Mike Martz said he would wait until game day to decide whether Faulk, who has a high right ankle sprain, will be able to play.

REDSKINS: Washington will miss middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and possibly defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson for the rest of the season. Trotter, the team's leading tackler, tore the ACL in his right knee in Thursday's 27-20 loss to the Cowboys. Trotter will have reconstructive surgery, which requires up to six months of rehabilitation.

"My foot just got caught in the turf," Trotter said. "I didn't get hit by anybody."

Wilkinson has a partial tear in his right calf, which usually requires 2-4 weeks recovery. Also, punter Bryan Barker had reconstructive surgery on an open nasal fracture; his availability is uncertain.

TITANS: Steve McNair sat out most of practice with a rib injury and coach Jeff Fisher said the quarterback's status for Sunday's game against the Giants would be a game-time decision.

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