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DENVER - Broncos running back Clinton Portis expects to play against the Chiefs after testing his bruised chest in contact drills Thursday.
"Really, I don't have any concerns," Portis said. "I feel good and if I didn't, I don't think I'd put myself in this situation. I'm ready to go out and test it."
Portis missed Sunday's game against the Lions and played half the previous two after being hit in the chest Sept. 14 against the Chargers. He went through light drills Wednesday then took some hits in full pads Thursday.
Portis expects to play in Sunday's matchup of unbeatens, but won't weigh himself down with tape or extra pads to do it.
"I don't think I'm going to go out and take any safety measures where I'm going to go out there playing with 20 more pounds of pads on, then you all will be like, "Well, Clinton don't look the same,' " he said. "I'm going to go out and play. If it's going to pop back out, it's going to pop back out."
JETS DL CHARGED: Jets defensive lineman John Abraham was charged with drunken driving after he drove his sports utility vehicle into a fire hydrant and light pole Wednesday, police said. Abraham pleaded innocent Thursday and was released on his own recognizance. The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence up to one year in jail.
CHARGERS: San Diego should have its top two receivers back for Sunday's game against the Jaguars. David Boston, who served a one-game suspension last week for conduct detrimental to the team, went through another practice Thursday with no setbacks. Before being suspended, he had been slowed by a bruised heel. And Tim Dwight, who missed Sunday's game with a strained knee, practiced for the second straight day.
DOLPHINS: At least four players have gotten staph infections, including linebacker Junior Seau and return specialist Charlie Rogers, who were hospitalized. None of the players is on the injury report, and all are expected to be available Sunday against the Giants. Linebacker Corey Jenkins and running back Travis Minor also got infections.
FALCONS: Injured quarterback Michael Vick threw the ball lightly for the second straight day but says his right shin is too tender for him to practice. Vick, who hasn't played since breaking his fibula Aug. 16, will try to do some light jogging for the first time Saturday morning. In other news, outside linebacker Will Overstreet had season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left shoulder.
JAGUARS: Quarterback Byron Leftwich will start Sunday against San Diego, leaving a healthy Mark Brunell on the bench. For the second straight day, Leftwich said, he took the majority of the snaps with the first team during practice. Brunell said he didn't take any. The left-handed Brunell is listed as questionable with a cut on his left elbow. Jacksonville also announced that receiver Jimmy Smith would start for the first time since a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
PANTHERS: The North Carolina Supreme Court declined to hear the case of former Carolina receiver Rae Carruth, who was convicted in the 2001 murder conspiracy of his girlfriend. The state's highest court declined a request by his attorneys for the justices to hear his appeal. In August, the state Court of Appeals declined to give Carruth a new trial although the three-judge panel determined the court had made a mistake in his case. Carruth, a first-round draft pick of the Panthers in 1997, is serving a prison term of 18 years and 11 months for plotting to kill Cherica Adams.
In other news, right tackle Jordan Gross was fined $5,000 by the NFL for a hit against the Falcons. The rookie was fined for hitting a defensive player as the Falcon attempted to get up off the ground.
VIKINGS: Daunte Culpepper missed his second straight practice because of a back injury, increasing the probability that Gus Frerotte will start when undefeated Minnesota visits the Falcons.