ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic delivers news of concern for Cardinals fans. First, the coaching staff appears less than pleased with right guard Deuce Lutui. Elton Brown could get first-team snaps against the Raiders on Saturday. Also, tight end Ben Patrick will miss at least one game after suffering a high ankle sprain. This is a serious setback in Patrick's efforts to wrest the starting job from incumbent Leonard Pope. The Cardinals plan to use both, but they hope Patrick can provide a more versatile alternative.

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com says the Cardinals' coaching staff wants better blocking from its receivers. Also, safety Antrel Rolle could miss another week. He has a high ankle sprain.

Matt Maiocco of Instant 49ers provides an injury update, noting that right tackle Jonas Jennings will miss the upcoming game to protect an injured knuckle.

Dave Mahler of KJR radio in Seattle catches up with former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg, on hand for a charity golf tournament. At retirement, Krieg was among the NFL's 10 all-time leaders in a couple of passing categories, including yards. People tend to remember the fumble record, but Krieg was also a Pro Bowl quarterback.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee was part of a large group surrounding 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald in the locker room today. I caught up with Josh Morgan, Nate Clements, Joe Staley and Jason Hill today. Mike Nolan is expected to be available following practice in about 90 minutes.

Steve Korte of Ramblings looks at positives and negatives from the Rams' most recent exhibition game. Leonard Little's resurgence was a positive. Key players Marc Bulger, Orlando Pace, Drew Bennett and Chris Long fell into the negative side. 

Clare Farnsworth of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren wasn't happy with his team's attention to detail in practice today. You can bet Holmgren's coaching staff heard about it in clear terms.

Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune says Seahawks center Chris Spencer participated in individual drills today for the first time since a back injury flared up early in camp. Backup Steve Vallos has played better than expected while Spencer was out. Spencer said he played all last season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. I recall Steve Hutchinson doing that one season when he was with Seattle. Offensive linemen tend to play through such things.

Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times watched Matt Hasselbeck and Patrick Kerney take part in team drills after resting injuries recently. Right tackle Sean Locklear has a sprained knee ligament that will not require surgery, Holmgren said. Locklear will try to return for the regular-season opener.