Dave Zastudil, the Cleveland Browns punter, will miss the 2010 NFL season because of a right knee injury that has not recovered from surgery as expected. Zastudil missed the second half of last season after he was placed on injured reserve. "He's worked hard at it and worked with his doctor and our doctor on many different things," Eric Mangini, the Browns coach told the team's website. "It wasn't making any progress."
Albert Haynesworth's troubled-filled preparations for the new season with the Washington Redskins continued on Tuesday when he had to withdraw from practice due to illness. Haynesworth missed the first nine days of training camp practices because he had to pass a conditioning test. Mike Shanahan, the Redskins coach, said of the latest setback: "I just think he wasn't feeling good. The doctors didn't feel like it was heat-related. He just was sick."
The New Orleans Saints moved to strengthen their running back depth on Tuesday by signing Ladell Betts to a one-year contract. The former Washington Redskins player has been brought into the ranks of the Super Bowl winners as back-up after Lynell Hamilton was ruled out for the forthcoming season with a knee injury. Betts will start the season as the third choice running back for the Saints behind Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas.
Rey Maualuga, the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker, has been fined two games' pay and will forfeit a portion of his signing bonus for a drink-driving conviction, the NFL have announced. Maualuga pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in February after crashing his car in Covington, Kentucky. He will not face a suspension. Heading into his second year with the Bengals, Maualuga recorded 63 tackles in his first season with the club.
