NFL

Bills suspend WR for flap with coach

By wire services
Published December 9, 2005

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Bills receiver Eric Moulds was suspended without pay for Sunday's game against the Patriots, apparently for a sideline dispute with an assistant coach during last weekend's loss to Miami.

"Eric hasn't practiced this week, so he won't be ready to play Sunday. He is suspended for one game without pay," owner Ralph Wilson said Thursday after a meeting with Moulds and coach Mike Mularkey.

"From there on, he'll be back and will play the final three games of the season, which I hope we'll do better than we have so far."

Moulds' adviser, Greg Johnson, said the player accepted Wilson's decision and is happy with the opportunity to give his side of the story.

"He is now happy that this is behind him," Johnson said. "He's looking forward to getting back on the football field, but as it stands Sunday, he'll be a fan and cheer on the team."

Johnson said the one-game suspension will cost the player about $93,000. As part of the suspension, Moulds will not practice with the team the rest of the week.

Mularkey had barred Moulds from practice the past two days. Mularkey would not say why he was punishing Moulds, but it's believed to stem from an argument between the player and receivers coach Tyke Tolbert during Buffalo's 24-23 loss at Miami.

Johnson said the dispute occurred when Moulds left the field after feeling pain in his Achilles' tendon. Moulds wanted to have the tendon examined by a trainer when Tolbert asked Moulds to get back on the field, Johnson said. Moulds declined and was benched for most of the final three quarters.

OUT IN THE COLD: Weather displaced the Saints again, and it's getting on the nerves of quarterback Aaron Brooks.

Freezing temperatures caused the Saints to move a morning walkthrough from a downtown San Antonio parking lot to the Alamodome, where the team was forced out earlier this week so the stadium could prepare for the NCAA women's volleyball tournament.

After the walkthrough, held on the Alamodome's bare concrete floor and staged near a volleyball court, the Saints returned to the high school baseball field where their newest locker rooms are located.

It was just the latest disruption for the Saints, who haven't had a place to call their own since Hurricane Katrina uprooted them from New Orleans in late August.

"Weird," Brooks said after finishing dressing at his locker behind the dugout on the third-base side. He expressed frustration at the number of moves.

"We move one more time and I'm quitting," he said.

No other moves of the practice facility are planned.

CAP BOOST: The NFL's projected salary cap for 2006 will be between $92-million and $95-million, up from $85.5-million this year. The NFL's Management Council informed teams of the projected figure during an annual meeting in Dallas.

BRONCOS: Former Bucs safety John Lynch won't be fined or suspended for his hit on receiver Eddie Kennison in Sunday's game at Kansas City. The 13-year veteran learned by not hearing from the NFL: "There was no FedEx envelope on my cubicle when I came in. That's good news because they come Wednesday."

JAGUARS: Center Brad Meester will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn left biceps. Meester had started a franchise-record 92 consecutive games.

JETS: Quarterback Jay Fiedler will have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. Coach Herman Edwards said he didn't know when the surgery was planned.

LIONS: It appears Jeff Garcia will be back under center Sunday at Green Bay. Though he would not confirm Garcia as the starter, interim coach Dick Jauron said he expects the veteran to recover from a lackluster performance in last weekend's 21-16 loss to Minnesota. "I think he'll play significantly better," Jauron said. "He's had a pretty good week."

TITANS: An assault hearing in Nashville for rookie Adam "Pacman" Jones has been rescheduled for March 6 after key prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court. ... Quarterback Steve McNair sat out a second straight practice with a sore lower left leg, but coach Jeff Fisher said he expects him to play Sunday against Houston.

ARENA LEAGUE: Former Storm defensive specialist Johnnie Harris signed with Grand Rapids. Harris, who played with Orlando last season, helped Tampa Bay to an ArenaBowl in 1996 and had a league-leading 11 interceptions in '98, when he was defensive player of the year. He later played in the NFL with the Raiders (1999-2001) and Giants (2002-03).

Times staff writer Frank Pastor contributed to this report.

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 01:19:17]