PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : Peete to Start for Eagles This Sunday

Although Coach Ray Rhodes won’t confirm it until the end of the week, Rodney Peete said Wednesday he will replace Randall Cunningham as starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

“All I know is I’m starting this game and we’ll go from there,” said Peete, who has relieved Cunningham in two of the Eagles’ four games.

Cunningham questioned who was making the decisions on the Eagles, Rhodes or owner Jeffrey Lurie.

Rhodes said there should be no doubt in Cunningham’s mind.

“Mr. Lurie is not involved in any decision I make as far as the players,” he said. “It’s not his decision to make, it’s mine.”

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Defensive tackle Bryant Young, the San Francisco 49ers’ leading sacker and part of a run-stopping tandem with Dana Stubblefield, will sit out the next two to six weeks because of torn ligaments in his right ankle.

Junior Bryant and Oliver Barnett are the top two candidates to play in place of Young, who has three sacks.

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Chicago linebacker Vinson Smith, fined $12,000 by the NFL for a hit on St. Louis quarterback Chris Miller, said the league is protecting big money players at the expense of others.

Miller had to leave Sunday’s game and sustained his fourth concussion in two years after he was hit high by Smith, who suggested that maybe quarterbacks “need to be in a suit and tie.”

“These guys make more money than anyone on the field,” he said. “If they get hit, they get hit. That’s part of the game. I get hit on every play.”

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Veteran running back Rod Bernstine has been waived by the Denver Broncos and is expected to retire. Coach Mike Shanahan said Aaron Craver, who has impressed the coaching staff the last two games, will start at fullback Sunday at Seattle. . . . Jacksonville Jaguar safety Monty Grow will sit out the rest of the season after doctors discovered he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. . . . Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen said the Tennessee city has gained ground to attract the Houston Oilers with a $67-million promise from the state. . . . Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboy owner bucking the NFL on its licensing policies, met with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and five other owners for 4 1/2 hours, but the dispute remained unresolved.