According to SI.com’s Peter King, Matt Hasselbeck is expected to play this week against the Bears despite suffering a rib injury in Sunday’s loss to the 49ers.

From King’s Twitter page:

Re injuries: Am told Westbrook not bad, should play this week. Ditto Hasselbeck. McNabb? Still very sore. But Vick will only play spot duty.

King also reiterated on NBC last night that McNabb was doubtful to play in Week 3 as he continues to battle a rib injury himself. As King noted, the Eagles will continue to start Kevin Kolb (or get Jeff Garcia ready?) and ease Vick into games in sub packages.

Kolb threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns on 31 of 51 passing, although he did throw three interceptions. I know Andy Reid likes to throw the ball, but it’s probably never a good sign if Kolb is attempting 51 passes. Fortunately for the Eagles, they host Kansas City this Sunday and have their bye in Week 4.

Talk about a great time for the bye.

Washington Redskins’ RB Clinton Portis may miss Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys and could miss more time than that as he suffers from a MCL sprain in his left knee.

The good news? “I had 15 injuries two weeks ago,” Portis said. “Now I’ve only got one.”
The bad news? “Right now I can’t straighten it out,” he said of his left leg. “I just started bending it today. So hopefully by the end of the week. We’ve got five days, so hopefully I’ll be ready.”

Will he play Sunday? Steinberg’s synopsis:

He said the pain increased on Thursday night and Friday, leading to another examination and the sprain diagnosis. He said he thought he could help the team even if he wasn’t the main focal point of the offense merely by being on the field and forcing the Cowboys to account for him, but he also said he wouldn’t put himself out there just for the sake of being out there.

Portis has played at MVP-like status so losing him for any amount of time would put a damper in the Skins’ playoff hopes.

- Chiefs’ RB Larry Johnson is likely to be suspended or inactive for Sunday’s game following an investigation that he recently spat in a woman’s face at a Kansas City nightclub. (ESPN.com)

- Broncos’ CB Champ Bailey will miss 4-6 weeks after suffering a torn groin in Denver’s loss to the Patriots on Monday night. (ESPN.com)

- Tony Romo will not play in the Cowboys’ game this Sunday against Tampa Bay and could be out at least two more weeks with a broke pinkie finger. (Dallas Morning News)

- The Cleveland Browns have suspended Kellen Winslow one game for his rant Monday against GM Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel. Winslow questioned the team’s handling of his staph infection. (Rotoworld.com)

- Patriots’ safety Rodney Harrison’s season is over. He tore a quad muscle Monday in New England’s win over Denver and the injury likely will end his 15-year NFL career. (NFL.com)

Here’s a shock (no pun intended): Jeremy Shockey is upset with the team he plays for. Following New Orleans’ 30-7 loss to the Panthers in Week 7, Shockey ripped the Saints for mishandling his groin injury and now he might not play next week against the Chargers in London.

“I feel a spot in my leg that wasn’t there before,” said Shockey, who indicated he was hopeful he only dug up scar tissue and did not suffer more damage.

Shockey was clearly slowed by the injury. Later, after a catch, Shockey had the ball stripped by Julius Peppers and Carolina recovered. It led to the Panthers’ go-ahead touchdown in a rout that left Shockey in a foul mood despite leading the team with five catches for 50 yards.

“I had a fumble that hurt the team. I missed a backside cutoff block,” Shockey said. “That’s on me, 14 points I felt like I gave up today, not because of effort, but just because physically I’m not healthy.”
Shockey said he may have come back too soon from the surgery, and also indicated the Saints erred by misdiagnosing him in training camp.

“I’m worried that this thing could have been taken care of in camp, like it should have been,” said Shockey, who the Saints acquired from the New York Giants in July for two draft picks. “If it wasn’t misdiagnosed in camp like it was there’d have been no problems. … Next time I know. When I get hurt I’ll get three or four opinions besides just the team’s.”

Ah the old, “I take full credit for my mistakes today, but really it was someone else’s fault.”

Shockey didn’t fumble because he was hurt. He fumbled because he wasn’t taking care of the ball and got stripped. Why the Saints were running a screen pass to the tight end in that situation is beyond me, but that’s beside the point. When Shockey was in New York, the Giants mistreated him. When he was traded to New Orleans, everything was great because he was going to get the opportunity to play in Sean Payton’s offense. But now that things haven’t started off so well, he’s got to bitch and blast the team. The Giants have to be laughing right now and breathing a sigh of relief that they don’t have to deal with him anymore.

ESPN.com is reporting that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo could miss up to four weeks because of a broken pinkie finger.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand and will be out four weeks, a team source told ESPN’s Michael Smith.

Romo initially was diagnosed with a pinkie sprain in Sunday’s 30-24 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Veteran quarterback Brad Johnson, the Cowboys’ holder on kicks, is Romo’s backup.

The Cowboys have lost two of their last three games after starting the season 3-0.

For a team that just lost to the Arizona Cardinals, this is crippling for the Cowboys. Their offense is going to look quite different with “Elbow Pads” Johnson in there. That’s not to say that Johnson is going to be a complete waste (he does have plenty of weapons around him), but all of a sudden Dallas looks incredibly vulnerable.

Ouch! The upside is that owners with Tony Romo are probably doing pretty well record-wise, so maybe they can weather the storm for four weeks. Then again, maybe not. Brad Johnson seems like the easiest move to make, though there’s no guarantee that he has enough left in the tank. He’s a vet, however, and he’s walking into an offense with a ton of weapons. Trent Edwards is out there on a few waiver wires and he has nice matchups in Week 7 and Week 9. Matt Cassel has nice matchups the next two weeks but it looked like he’d post big numbers against a shaky Chargers defense and was unable to have any success. Matt Ryan is on bye this week, but looks like a decent start the following three, while Marc Bulger has three nice matchups in the next four games (though he hasn’t shown much of anything this season).

- Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis says that ‘All systems are go’ for quarterback Carson Palmer to play Sunday against the Cowboys. (Bengals.com)

- Despite Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning to practice on Friday, the team has listed him as questionable to face Jacksonville. Big Ben is dealing with a shoulder injury. (NFL.com)

- Baltimore running back Willis McGahee was limited in Friday’s practice and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Titans. McGahee suffered a rib injury Monday night against the Steelers. (NFL.com)

- Anquan Boldin underwent surgery to repair his sinus fracture and will not play in the Cardinals game Sunday against the Bills. Steve Breaston will start in Boldin’s place. (Arizona Republic)

- The Eagles are reporting that RB Brian Westbrook should play this weekend against the Redskins despite being hobbled by an ankle injury. (PhiladelphiaEagles.com)

Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his left shoulder in the Steelers’ 23-20 win Monday night against Baltimore.

Rookie halfback Rashard Mendenhall and right guard Kendall Simmons will be placed on injured reserve today. Mendenhall made his first start and he left in the third quarter with a fractured shoulder. Simmons has a torn Achilles tendon.

The injuries to the running backs left the Steelers with just one healthy back, Mewelde Moore. They went into the game with just three. Gary Russell was on the roster until he was released the day before they played Philadelphia, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Not a good start for the rookie back out of Illinois. The Steelers intended to use him in a running back-by-committee backfield with Willie Parker, but Mendenhall had a severe case of fumblitis in the preseason and Parker got the majority of the careers. Now Mendenhall will miss the rest of the season.

Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t looked that great the past two games as he battles shoulder and hand injuries, and now Mewelde Moore is the starting back. Not too mention the offensive line just took another major hit with the loss of Simmons. Even though they’re 3-1, Pittsburgh is in trouble.

JP’s Fantasy Take: Wow, what a bummer of a season for Mendenhall. Carey Davis actually looked like he was ahead of Moore on the depth chart, but he left the game with a twisted ankle. If he’s ready to go in Week 5, it looks like he’d be the main ballcarrier.

- After stumbling to a 0-3 start and looking atrocious while doing so, the St. Louis Rams have decided to make a change. Veteran Trent Green will reportedly start at quarterback this weekend against the undefeated Buffalo Bills as the Rams have decided to bench Marc Bulger. (NFL.com)

- Willie Parker will miss Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens after spraining his knee in last week’s loss to the Eagles. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall is expected to make his first NFL start. (NFL.com)

- Packers’ CB Al Harris could be lost for the entire season with a ruptured spleen, which was the same injury that knocked out former Bucs’ QB Chris Simms for the entire 2006 season. Tramon Williams, a second-year undrafted free agent, is currently Harris’s backup at left corner. (National Football Post)

- RB Brian Westbrook reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain during the Eagles’ win over the Steelers Sunday, a game in which “Westy” had to leave the game in the first half. His status for this Sunday’s game is still up in the air, but Westbrook expects to play. (Rotoworld.com)

- Struggling quarterback Derek Anderson is expected to start in Week 4 for the Cleveland Browns, but the team is prepping second-year backup Brady Quinn to play. Anderson could have a quick hook if he struggles Sunday against Cincinnati. (ESPN’s Chris Mortensen)

- Despite his poor performance in Tennessee last Sunday, Matt Schuab will reportedly keep the starting quarterback job in Houston. Unfortunately for Schaub, things don’t get any easier against Jacksonville this Sunday. (Houston Chronicle)

- After destroying the Patriots with it last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will keep the ‘Wildcat’ package in their offensive. RB Ronnie Brown shredded New England for over 100 yards and four touchdowns while lining up predominately in that formation last Sunday. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Obviously, the Bulger news is big, but I doubt there were too many owners starting him last week. His numbers are down and I think most of us were expecting him to eventually turn it around and finish somewhere in the top 15. Scott Linehan is apparently desperate and feels like he’s on the verge of getting fired. Trent Green is old, but STL has some weapons so he could be a decent spot starter if he can get in the groove…As for Westy, Correll Buckhalter looks like the primary backup despite all the preseason talk about Lorenzo Booker…Rashard Mendenhall will be a hot pickup this week, but don’t break the bank in Blind Bidding leagues. He faces a tough Ravens defense and Parker could be back as early as next week. But if you can add him cheaply, do so, as you never know with knee sprains…Brady Quinn is a guy to target in larger leagues. The “Bench Derek Anderson” talk seems to be getting louder and louder and Quinn has a chance to be good with all the weapons in the Browns’ offense.

After “not feeling right” during and after his team’s loss to the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, Chargers’ linebacker Shawne Merriman has decided to pull the plug on the 2008 season and opt for surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his knee. He’ll miss the remainder of the season.

The loss of Merriman, whose hard hits earned him the nickname “Lights Out,” is a big one for a team that has Super Bowl expectations.

“Shawne informed me he did not feel right and thought it best to shut it down,” Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said in a statement. “The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.”

I’m no doctor but this had to be the right decision all along. Merriman was risking his career by playing on his damaged knee, a knee that four doctors advised him he had to have surgery on. Now he can have the surgery, go through the proper rehab steps and get back on the field again when he’s ready.

Obviously this is a huge blow for the Chargers, though. Merriman is a tad overrated given he’s not that great in coverage and really only provides an edge rush, but he often disrupts opposing teams’ rhythm by getting pressure on the quarterback and in the backfield. And it’ll be interesting to see if San Diego can bounce back from their last-second loss to the Panthers with a trip to division rival Denver this week.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seahawks wide receiver Nate Burleson tore a knee ligament in his knee and will miss the rest of the season.

The Seahawks got a double dose of bad news Monday, as wide receiver Nate Burleson was lost of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee and running back Maurice Morris is out indefinitely with a sprained ligament in his right knee.

Coach Mike Holmgren made the announcements at his weekly news conference.

In other wide receiver-injury news, Drew Bennett of the St. Louis Rams is expected to miss at least six weeks after fracturing his foot Sunday at Philadelphia.

“I don’t think it’s season-ending thing,’’ Linehan said. “It looks like something that will heal in the next six weeks or so. At this point in the season, we will see, but right now it is going to keep him out at least a month or so.’’

Linehan said Bennett’s injury won’t require surgery.

Bennett’s spot in the Rams’ starting lineup will be filled by either rookie Keenan Burton, Dane Looker or a yet unnamed veteran player.

The Seahawks’ offense is a mess. The run game is a major issue and now Courtney Taylor (who struggled against Buffalo) is the No. 1 receiver. Matt Hasselbeck is in trouble unless somebody can step up and take some of the pressure off him.