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PITTSBURGH - Running back Jerome Bettis will miss the next two weeks with an injured right calf, possibly leaving the Steelers without their top two rushers to start the regular season.
Duce Staley, the starter at the beginning of training camp, had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Aug.8 and may not be ready for the opener on Sept.11 against Tennessee.
Bettis, who has started the team's three preseason games, injured his calf during the first quarter of Pittsburgh's 17-10 loss to Washington on Friday night.
"There's an outside chance he (Bettis) will play in the first game," Steelers coach Bill Cow-her said.
Willie Parker, a second-year player out of North Carolina, replaced Bettis and gained 51 yards on his only carry.
FORMER GATOR SHOT: Former safety Jarvis Williams, 40, was in stable condition after he was shot in the back early Sunday in a nightclub parking lot in Orange Park. Williams, a former Florida Gator who played with the Dolphins and Giants, was running to safety when he was hit in the back. "He was not the intended victim," Mary Justino, the Clay County Sheriff's office spokeswoman, said. "He pretty much got hit by a stray bullet."
BEARS: With a five-year contract and an ear-to-ear grin, running back Cedric Benson joined the team in Lake Forest, Ill., and put a drawn-out negotiation behind him. The fourth overall pick and the last first-rounder to sign, Benson called it "a great relief" and said it "feels good to be here" during a news conference at the practice facility. Benson took a conditioning test but did not practice. Coach Lovie Smith said he will not play in Thursday's preseason game against Cleveland and is questionable for the opener Sept.11 at Washington.
DOLPHINS: Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, a Pro Bowl alternate on special teams last season, was traded to the Bears for tight end John Owens and a conditional draft pick.
EAGLES: Jerome McDougle returned to the team one month after he was shot in the stomach by three armed robbers in southwest Miami. Coach Andy Reid said the third-year defensive end could be back for the fifth or sixth game if there aren't setbacks in his rehabilitation. McDougle was sitting in his silver Mercedes coupe when the robbers approached him late July 28. Police said he was shot after the robbers, with their faces covered, demanded he hand over his property.
GIANTS: Quarterback Eli Manning said he felt no soreness in his sprained elbow a day after throwing the ball for the first time since he was injured 10 days earlier. Manning reiterated his plans to be in the starting lineup for the opener Sept.11 against Arizona. He said he will miss the final preseason game Thursday at New England but hopes to resume full practicing by Monday.
JETS: Defensive end John Abraham reported to the team, signing his one-year, $6.67-million franchise tender.
SEAHAWKS: Right tackle Floyd Womack could miss four games after injuring his left triceps in Saturday's win over Kansas City.
VIKINGS: Tight end T.J. Cottrell injured his left ankle seriously enough to warrant ambulance transportation to a hospital. Trainer Chuck Barta declined to provide more details.
Preseason game
RAMS 37, LIONS 13: Quarterback Marc Bulger accounted for two touchdowns, Isaac Bruce had 85 yards receiving and a score and Steven Jackson ran for 108 yards and a touchdown for visiting St. Louis.
Rams cornerback Terry Fair had full feeling in his extremities and never lost consciousness after spraining his neck when his head struck running back Kevin Jones' thigh. Fair, motionless facedown on the turf for several minutes, was strapped to a backboard and carted off late in the first quarter. He was taken to the hospital for a precautionary evaluation.
Lions quarterback Joey Harrington was 9-of-18 for 106 yards, and Jones had 38 yards rushing on nine carries. Jeff Garcia, signed to push Harrington, had another lackluster effort, going 2-for-9 for 34 yards with a fumble.