NFL notebook: Chargers DE Bosa could miss opener

The Los Angeles Chargers could be without star defensive end Joey Bosa for the regular-season opener. Bosa was limited by a foot injury again, putting his availability in question for Sunday's Week 1 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. "It's possible that he might not be with us," said Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, per SoCalNewsGroup. "Foot injuries, they take on all the body weight. That can be tricky." Bosa has been dealing with the injury to his left foot since he was hurt in practice on Aug. 7. Bosa was named to the Pro Bowl in 2017 after racking up a team-leading 12.5 sacks while starting all 16 games. Bosa finished with 70 tackles also had four forced fumbles last season. A first-round pick out of Ohio State (No. 3 overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Rosa enjoyed a stellar first season with 10.5 sacks in 12 games, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. --Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey didn't mince words when discussing Le'Veon Bell's failure to report to sign his $14.54 million franchise tender. "Honestly, it's a little selfish," the 29-year-old Pouncey said, via Triblive.com. "I'm kind of (angry) right now. It (stinks) that he's not here. We'll move on as a team. It doesn't look like he'll be in the game plan at this point (for Sunday against the Cleveland Browns). (James) Conner looks great. We'll worry about (Bell) in Week 2." Bell may not be available for Week 2 -- or even longer, given the remarks of his agent Adisa Bakari on Sirius XM NFL Radio on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Bell would have to report prior to Week 11 to earn an accrued year toward free agency and hit the open market in 2019. "(We'll find out) when we find out," Bakari said. "I think Mike Tomlin said it best yesterday. He'll get there when he's there and we'll address those issues when he arrives." --Jacksonville Jaguars star cornerback Jalen Ramsey will be added to the team's injury report for the season opener against the New York Giants. Ramsey was limited at practice due to ankle soreness, the team said. Ramsey was not injured during practice but the soreness led the team to curb his repetitions. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2016 draft, Ramsey has generated plenty of headlines in the past few weeks for trashing a number of the league's quarterbacks in an interview with GQ magazine. He also ripped New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski in an interview with ESPN The Magazine. Ramsey has been looking forward to his Week 1 matchup with Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who will be playing for the first time since fracturing his ankle a year ago. --New York Giants outside linebacker Olivier Vernon is in jeopardy of sitting out the team's season opener after missing practice. Vernon sustained a high-ankle sprain last week, with coach Pat Shurmur telling reporters on Thursday that he's uncertain if he'll play against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. "I don't know what's going to happen this weekend so we'll have to see as we go," Shurmur said, via Newsday. Third-round pick Lorenzo Carter would be in line to replace the 27-year-old Vernon, who was carted off the field on Aug. 26 after his foot was tangled with an offensive lineman during a drill. --New York Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse's chances of playing in the season opener diminished when he was unable to participate in practice. Kearse underwent a medical procedure to repair an abdominal injury last month and missed New York's final two preseason games. He told reporters on Monday that he could not talk about the injury. The Jets kick off the regular season Monday night with a road game at the Detroit Lions. Entering his seventh NFL season overall and second with New York, Kearse appeared in 16 games, making 14 starts, for New York last season. He hauled in a career-best 65 receptions to go with five touchdowns. --Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is in jeopardy of sitting out his team's season opener after missing practice. Berry is considered day-to-day by the team as he nurses a sore heel that has plagued him for close to a month. Safeties Ron Parker, Eric Murray, Armani Watts and Jordan Lucas will be expected to pick up the slack if Berry misses Sunday's game against the host Los Angeles Chargers. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Berry is bidding to return to game action after rupturing his left Achilles' tendon sustained in the fourth quarter of the 2017 season opener against the New England Patriots. --New York Giants special teams coach Thomas McGaughey announced that he is undergoing chemotherapy as part of treatment for cancer. Doctors noticed a cancerous growth in McGaughey's bowel duct earlier this year. Upon removal, they found cancer in his lymph nodes and McGaughey was diagnosed with periampullary. "I'm not going to let chemotherapy or cancer get in the way of what I do," the 45-year-old McGaughey said, via The Athletic. "I'm a father and I'm a football coach. That's what I do." McGaughey was hired as part of new head coach Pat Shurmur's staff in January. Shurmur announced earlier this summer that Tom Quinn returned to join Anthony Blevins as special teams assistants while McGaughey was dealing with health issues. --Running back Dalvin Cook's workload is a subject of conjecture for the Minnesota Vikings' season opener against the visiting San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Cook suffered a torn ACL in Week 4 a year ago, bringing a premature end to his rookie season. He had only two carries for one yard in the preseason, prompting questions of how he will be used against the 49ers. "We're not sure yet. We're going to see how it goes," Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo told ESPN on Thursday. "There's nothing that hasn't told us that he can't carry the load. If there's something that during the game ... if that does arise where he needs a break, we're confident in all the guys that we're able to put in the football game." Cook told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press that his knee is "fine" but acknowledged he was unsure how he would hold up under a heavy workload. --Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack practiced for the first time in nearly a month, the Indianapolis Star reported. Mack has been sidelined since injuring his hamstring in the Colts' preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 9. Expected to be the starting running back this season, it's unclear whether Mack will be available for the Week 1 matchup against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The 6-foot, 210-pound Mack finished with four carries for nine yards in his lone preseason action. He was hurt on a five-yard run late in the first quarter against Seattle. --Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates is hoping to be in the lineup as the team opens its season against the AFC West-rival Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Gates rejoined the Chargers this past weekend and signed a one-year contract. The 38-year-old was summoned after fellow tight end Hunter Henry began the season on the physically unable to perform list with an ACL injury. "I've always been optimistic about playing in a game, whether I was injured or not here -- it didn't matter," Gates said, per ESPN. "So, I think I'm well aware of the preparation that needs to be put in throughout the week to go play a game at the highest level possible. With that being said ... it just depends on how I feel leading up to Sunday." An eight-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, Gates had 30 receptions for a career-low 316 yards and three touchdowns in a reduced role in 2017. --Pittsburgh Steelers starting tight end Vance McDonald did not practice, the club announced. McDonald was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, but his inability to take the field puts in jeopardy his chances of playing in Sunday's regular-season opener at the Cleveland Browns. Entering his sixth NFL season overall and second with Pittsburgh, McDonald had 14 receptions for 188 yards and a touchdown in 10 games (seven starts) last season. If McDonald is unable to play Sunday, veteran tight end Jesse James is expected to start in his place. --The Cleveland Browns claimed defensive end Anthony Zettel off waivers, the team announced. Zettel was released Wednesday by the Detroit Lions, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Penn State. In a corresponding move, Cleveland waived offensive lineman Aaron Neary, who was picked up on waivers four days earlier. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Zettel started all 16 games for Detroit last season. He collected 43 tackles and finished second on the team with 6.5 sacks. --The New England Patriots placed rookie defensive back Duke Dawson on injured reserve, the team announced. Dawson, the team's second-round pick in this year's NFL draft, suffered a hamstring injury after the preseason opener and has been limited since. In a corresponding move, New England promoted wide receiver Riley McCarron from the practice squad. Dawson played in all 48 games over four seasons at the University of Florida. He had 82 tackles, 23 passes defensed and returned three of his six interceptions for touchdowns during his career. The Patriots signed tight end Stephen Anderson to the practice squad. He spent his first two seasons with the Houston Texans, pulling in 25 receptions for 342 yards and a touchdown in 15 games in 2017. --The Philadelphia Eagles placed wide receiver Mack Hollins on injured reserve, the team announced. The move came hours before the Eagles opened defense of its Super Bowl championship against the visiting Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Hollins, who already had been ruled out of the opener, has been recovering from sports hernia surgery and was bothered by a groin injury during the preseason. He will have to sit out at least the first eight games. A fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft out of North Carolina, Hollins had 16 receptions for 226 yards and a touchdown in his rookie season. --Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper said his team is in for an uphill climb when it opens the 2018 NFL season against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. After all, the high-octane Rams led the league last season by averaging a robust 29.9 points per game. That offense will be facing a Bears defense that surrendered 23.3 points per contest -- and that was with premier pass rusher Khalil Mack, who has since signed with the Chicago Bears. "We might have to go out there and score every possession. You never know," the 24-year-old Cooper said, via the San Jose Mercury News. That might be a bit of a tall task considering Oakland's offense ranked 23rd in points last season. Cooper is bidding to rebound after a down year. He had just 48 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. --Former Cleveland Browns linebacker Mychal Kendricks pleaded guilty to insider trading, philly.com reported Kendricks, who had his contract terminated by the Browns after he was formally charged on Aug. 29, could face up to 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December. The 27-year-old Kendricks acknowledged wrongdoing in a Philadelphia courtroom when he was asked by U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter why he decided to plead guilty. "Because I know I was wrong," said Kendricks, per Philly.com. "I know that I made the decision to accept information, secret information, and it wasn't the right thing to do." --The Miami Dolphins signed Gavin Escobar and placed fellow tight end MarQueis Gray on injured reserve, the team announced. Escobar, who was released by the Dolphins last week, rejoins the team after playing two games with the Baltimore Ravens last season. The 27-year-old Escobar has recorded 30 receptions for 333 yards and eight touchdowns in 62 career contests since being selected by the Dallas Cowboys with a second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Escobar will join A.J. Derby and rookies Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe as the Dolphins open the season against the visiting Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Miami is aiming to rebound from a 6-10 campaign in 2017. --The Houston Texans worked out a pair of running backs, the Houston Chronicle reported. Charles Sims, released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with an injury settlement at the end of last month, and Akeem Hunt each visited the Texans. Houston could use depth at the position with second-year running back D'Onta Foreman starting the season on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon. Sims suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff of Tampa Bay's second preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 18. He was placed on injured reserve the following week before the team waived him on Aug. 30.