Patriots' Brady MIA

Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart stayed out of the sun Monday, as did veteran counterpart Tom Brady, who was mysteriously absent from workouts with the New England Patriots.
Leinart missed the first day of practice while contract negotiations went on between the Cardinals and representatives of the first-round pick.

Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, missed his third straight practice, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn't say why his quarterback wasn't on the field.
"Guys that aren't out here, it's either because of their practice routine or they are day to day," he said.
It was unclear which reason applied to Brady, who participated in all four practices on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of camp. He missed Sunday's single session and both of Monday's practices.
Arizona appeared close to a deal with Leinart when his agent, Tom Condon, came to Phoenix on Friday to meet with club officials. But Condon left after the sides didn't meet Sunday.
"We want to get Matt in as quickly as possible," Condon said. "We're anxious to see him on the field."
Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, Leinart's teammate at Southern California, showed up at the Saints' training camp in Jackson, Miss. He is expected to practice Tuesday after undergoing a conditioning test.
Bush didn't expect his contract to get done quite so soon.
"You never know when it's going to happen. It's like waiting to be called into the army," Bush said. "I'm just glad to finally be here. It's a business, but I knew we'd get it done soon. I'm ready to go."
As temperatures soared Monday during another sweltering heat wave around the country, some NFL teams were taking steps to make things easier on their players.
The Chicago Bears scheduled only one practice on Monday and Tuesday and moved the starting time to 7 p.m., thus avoiding mid-90s heat and sweltering humidity in Bourbonnais, Ill. The players might get a break on Wednesday, too, as that practice could be pushed back.
"I'm sure they probably were glad to get out of that heat a little bit," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We would like to get a good practice no matter what, and the best way to do that is for the players not to have to deal with the heat."
Some have already suffered. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, rookie return man Devin Hester and rookie defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek missed time because of heat exhaustion symptoms in the last couple of days.
As a precaution, the Bears have also given a handful of veteran players such as Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown and Brian Griese one morning practice off.
"Night is great for us, I love it," Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz said. "I think we just canceled it just to be safe. There's been a lot of bad _ I wouldn't call them accidents _ but bad things that have happened in the heat. So we're not taking any chances."
The heat also caused some problems at the Indianapolis Colts' first practice.
Linebacker Keith O'Neil, a four-year veteran, spent about 25 minutes in a cooling tent, then left practice before the Colts finished their final drill. Colts coach Tony Dungy said O'Neil probably would have returned if the practice lasted longer.
With the heat index approaching triple digits, everyone was paying attention to the thermometer.
"I think players have taken it very seriously ever since, God rest his soul, the tragic death of Korey Stringer," two-time MVP Peyton Manning said. "So guys try to be smart about it."
Manning said the Colts chart weight loss in correlation to the amount of Gatorade they drink _ approximately two bottles of Gatorade for each pound lost.
"We had a lot of coaches out there sweating profusely, and that's when I know it's hot," Dungy said. "We took more breaks and longer breaks, that's really about all you can do."
The Titans pushed their afternoon practice back four hours so it could be held under the lights. A heat advisory issued for much of Tennessee was set to expire by then.
Florida native Travis Taylor is familiar with Sunshine State heat, but the warmth of Minnesota has already gotten to him.
"I thought this was supposed to be Minnesota?" the Vikings wide receiver said of the state's icy reputation.
After temperatures rose into the upper 90s on Sunday, the Vikings were bracing for 100-degree predictions for Monday's first full-squad practice.
"Heat is probably the story today," coach Brad Childress said. "You have to be mindful of the heat."
Pro Bowler Darren Sharper arrived at camp with a freshly shaven head, a new look for the image-conscious safety.
"Actually I'm just getting old," Sharper joked. "When I saw that it was going to be 100 degrees here, I thought I'd shave it off and it would maybe cool me off a little bit."

Falcons
Wide receiver Brian Finneran is out for the season after tearing up his left knee in practice.
Finneran, one of quarterback Michael Vick's favorite targets, went down during a workout Sunday night as he practiced a one-on-one drill with rookie cornerback Jimmy Williams. An MRI confirmed that Finneran tore the anterior cruciate ligament, in addition to sustaining cartilage damage and a slight displacement of the knee cap. He will undergo surgery later this week.
The loss of Finneran was a serious blow to the Falcons' hopes of bolstering an offense that ranked 27th in yards passing last season. As a backup, he led Atlanta wideouts with 60 catches for 611 yards.
The Falcons placed Finneran on injured reserve and signed long snapper Boone Stutz, who was cut by Tampa Bay a couple of weeks ago.

Browns
Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon and right offensive tackle Ryan Tucker, two of Cleveland's steadiest players the past few seasons, will both undergo knee surgery in hopes of being ready for the season opener.
McCutcheon, the only player left from the club's 1999 draft class, will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday. Tucker, too, will have a procedure to clean up torn cartilage in his left knee.
The operations come less than a week after center LeCharles Bentley suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.

Giants
Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey was dazed after a collision with safety Will Demps late in the evening practice. Shockey was reaching for a pass by Eli Manning during a two-minute drill when Demps appeared to hit him in the helmet. A stunned Shockey fell to the grass and stayed down for about a minute. He returned to the huddle and ran the final two plays of the practice, but he slammed his helmet to the ground after the last play.
Shockey later walked off the field with trainer Byron Hansen. He held his head a couple of times on the way to the locker room and then gingerly walked down the stairs to the room.

Rams
A four-day training camp holdout earned Tye Hill extra scrutiny on his first day of practice. Instead of easing their first-round pick into the mix Monday, Hill was given plenty of action with the second unit at cornerback. He also saw time as a gunner on special teams, and tried, unsuccessfully, to cover Torry Holt.
"He got me a few times today. But hey, he's a Pro Bowler and he's going to be in the Hall of Fame," Hill said.
Hill said Holt, who tied for third in the NFL with 103 receptions last year and has been to five Pro Bowls, rubbed it in just a bit.
"He was like 'Welcome to the league, rookie,'" Hill said. "It's all good, I love playing against him. I've got to crawl before I walk and going up against him is going to make me better."

Bills
Rookie safety Donte Whitner believes he's close to signing with the Buffalo Bills. The team is not so sure.
"I was a little more encouraged a couple of days ago than I am now," Bills general manager Marv Levy said Monday.
Levy added there's been little progress in talks with Whitner's agent.
Whitner, selected eighth overall out of Ohio State, was more hopeful in an interview on the Ohio State campus Monday afternoon.
"It won't be long," Whitner told The Associated Press.
Through Monday, Whitner has missed six practices since the Bills opened camp on Friday. He was projected to be a starter this season.
Linebacker Takeo Spikes was back after a long absence, donning full pads for the first time since tearing his right Achilles' tendon in Week 3 last season.

Colts
Indianapolis put Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders on the physically unable to perform list. Sanders had offseason surgery to repair his left shoulder and said Sunday he didn't expect to practice for a couple of weeks.
The Colts also put their second-round pick, cornerback Tim Jennings, on the PUP list. He is still recovering from spring surgery on his ankle. Sanders and Jennings both ran Monday, and Sanders even caught a few passes.

Titans
Tennessee released running back Damien Nash, finally losing patience with their fifth-round draft pick of 2005. Nash reported to training camp expecting to compete with a large crop of running backs: Chris Brown, Travis Henry, rookie draft pick LenDale White and Jarrett Payton. But Titans coaches said he was out of shape and about 10 pounds over the weight they required for camp.

Jaguars
Defensive end Paul Spicer signed a new three-year contract. Terms were not announced.
Spicer had two years remaining on his original four-year contract, but opted for a deal that extended his contract through the 2008 season.
"I've been busting my hump since I've been here to become a starter," Spicer said. "Now I'm going to let my play get me paid."
Spicer earned a full-time starting role in 2005. He produced career- best numbers with 7 1/2 sacks, second on the team, along with 56 tackles and 24 quarterback pressures.