One of the beauties of the first game of the regular season is that the injury reports are pretty clean. Only 68 players didn't practice Wednesday, which isn't bad for 32 teams. Defensive tackle Marcus Stroud's rolled ankle injury toward the end of Jaguars practice isn't included because it happened after the injury report went to the league. His status will be updated Thursday. Only 16 players officially have been ruled out, a list that is headed by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers. Roethlisberger, Titans tight end Erron Kinney, Browns cornerback Daylon McCutcheon, Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens, Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby and right tackle Oliver Ross are the only starters ruled out, although don't expect Falcons linebacker Ed Hartwell and Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs to play.
Good news for Seahawks: Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren was pleased by what he saw wide receiver Darrell Jackson and tight end Itula Mili do in practice Wednesday. Jackson missed the entire preseason with a knee injury, and Mili recently hurt his knee but was moving well. Having Mili is important because the Seahawks weren't able to run a lot of their empty backfield packages, which are reliant on a pass-catching tight end going up the middle of the field. With Stevens and Mili down, the Seahawks had some offensive restrictions. Now they are fine.
Branch to Seattle? Keep dreaming: A lot of folks in Seattle still don't get the idea that they can't pick up Patriots receiver Deion Branch in a trade and discussions about the subject are minimal. The Seahawks have no trouble giving Branch over $7 million a year but they know he isn't their property and the Patriots aren't going to trade him in a deal that isn't close to two first-round picks. People in Seattle keep saying, "Why don't the Seahawks offer a first?" Well, the reason is a first-round pick won't make a trade happen. The only true offer on the table is a second-round choice from the Jets and the Patriots aren't going to give the Jets a wide receiver.
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John Clayton
