PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Kelly Confirmed Out for Season

Quarterback Jim Kelly would be sidelined for the playoffs even if the Buffalo Bills win their last two regular-season games, Coach Marv Levy confirmed Thursday night.

Asked whether surgery had been ruled out, Levy said: “The doctor made no mention of surgery.”

After a lengthy examination on Thursday, team doctor Richard Weiss gave Kelly, who sprained his left knee in Sunday’s 21-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the go-ahead to begin rehabilitation in six to eight weeks.

“So, essentially, he will miss the remainder of the 1994 season,” Levy said in a one-paragraph statement.

The Bills initially reported that the injury was to Kelly’s anterior cruciate ligament, but Levy’s statement said it is actually the lateral collateral ligament, which is on the outside of the knee.

“The cruciate ligaments are uninjured and the structural part of the knee is intact,” Levy said. “The doctor said there is no damage to the inside of the knee.”

Frank Reich will replace Kelly as the Bills’ starter.

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Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, faced with the possible move of the Rams, Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said it was premature to say what the league would do to try to prevent the moves.

He reiterated, however, that he hopes the teams stay where they are.

“I would say that obviously when you’re talking about one of the two largest population areas in the country, you really need an in-depth review to see what the long-term implications are,” Tagliabue said of the Los Angeles situation in a conference call.

“That’s what we’re preparing to do if we receive a proposal from the Rams or Raiders. We will focus on our policy guidelines on team location.”

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Tony Smith, Willie Green, Randy Cuthbert and seven others went from NFL castoffs to original Carolina Panthers.

“It’s great to see some flesh and blood,” said Panther President Mike McCormack, one of several team officials who introduced the players at a news conference.

The 10 free agents signed to 1995 contracts all play offense, including Smith, a first-round pick in the 1992 draft, and Green, who caught a touchdown pass in the 1991 NFC title game with the Detroit Lions.

They might not be big names, but the Panthers have some big people, including 6-foot-9, 375-pound tackle Kevin Farkas and 6-3, 380-pound guard Carlson Leomiti.

“We need to make room at the table for these guys,” one official joked.

The Jacksonville Jaguars also signed their first 10 players in franchise history, all of whom were in NFL training camps earlier this year.

“Signing these first 10 players is the first step in putting together our roster for the 1995 season,” Coach Tom Coughlin said.

Defensive lineman Ernie Logan has the most NFL experience of the group, three seasons with Cleveland where he played in 39 games with six starts.

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Baltimore Oriole owner Peter Angelos says he plans to make good his $200-million offer for the Buccaneers, who he maintains are “eminently movable” because of weak fan support.

“You just had a football game down there with 35,000 people in attendance. That simply isn’t enough fan support to justify, it seems to me, the retention of an NFL franchise,” Angelos told the St. Petersburg Times in an interview published Thursday.