PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : Harper Gets Good News on Injury

Alvin Harper and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers breathed a collective sigh of relief Sunday when it was confirmed that the team’s prized off-season acquisition had a mild sprain of a left knee ligament, rather than a more serious injury.

Harper, expected to miss 3 to 5 weeks, was injured in the first quarter of Saturday night’s 9-3 exhibition loss to the New York Jets.

“I thought I was gone,” said Harper, who also sustained a mid-foot sprain on the play.

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The Denver Broncos, last in team defense in 1994, may offer Deion Sanders a contract within the next 30 days. “It’s a situation that, if we wanted him bad enough, we would work with it and find a way to make something happen,” said owner Pat Bowlen, who gave San Francisco the edge in signing the All-Pro cornerback who could command $4 million a season.

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The 1997 NFL season will be the last one the Houston Oilers play in the Astrodome, said owner Bud Adams. The Houston Chronicle last week reported that Adams, in a letter to Mayor Bob Lanier, issued an ultimatum that either the city build a stadium or he’ll leave. . . . Brad Daluiso kicked four field goals and Keith Elias scored a touchdown a 12-yard run as the New York Giants dominated defensively through three quarters to beat the Cleveland Browns, 19-13, in the exhibition opener for both teams at Cleveland. . . . St. Louis Ram quarterback Chris Miller is expected to practice this week after doctors determined his concussion was not serious, Coach Rich Brooks said. Miller, who suffered three concussions last season, was kneed in the helmet in Saturday’s 34-20 exhibition loss at Seattle.