Seau Will Undergo Knee Surgery Today

San Diego Charger All-Pro linebacker Junior Seau and defensive tackle Don Sasa will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery today, the team announced.

Both players suffered cartilage damage in their left knees during Saturday’s 20-13 exhibition victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The damage was revealed during MRIs performed this morning.

The status of both players will be evaluated after they undergo surgery, team officials said.

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In a preseason matchup of the NFL’s two youngest franchises, the Jacksonville Jaguars showed signs Sunday that their best football may still be ahead of them.

Linebacker Eddie Robinson had an interception and one of seven sacks for Jacksonville, and Mark Brunell led the Jaguars on two first-quarter touchdown drives in a 23-9 victory over mistake-prone Carolina at Jacksonville, Fla.

The Panthers turned the ball over twice and managed only one sustained drive in the first half behind Kerry Collins, resulting in John Kasay’s 40-yard field goal.

Steve Beuerlein, who started for the Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game two years ago and is now a Carolina reserve, was booed when he replaced Collins in the second half. He was intercepted by Aaron Beasley on his third pass.

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James Hasty, a starting cornerback in both his years with the Kansas City Chiefs, has returned to the team after missing the first two weeks of camp in a bid to renegotiate his contract.

The Chiefs, however, refused to negotiate, said Carl Peterson, president and general manager. Hasty, scheduled to earn $1 million this year, was fined $5,000 per day, or $70,000 for his absence.

Had he not reported in time for Saturday night’s exhibition game against Pittsburgh, Hasty would have been subject to being fined the amount of a regular-season game check, or $62,500.

“I’m here to play football,” said Hasty, who was in street clothes during Saturday night’s 28-14 loss to the Steelers.

Hasty, 32, would not say why he chose to end the hold out.

“I just want to focus on the game,” Hasty said as his teammates warmed up before the game.

Peterson said if Hasty was on the plane Sunday back to camp in River Falls, Wis., he will not be fined a game check. Hasty was with the team when it returned to River Falls on Sunday afternoon, but declined any further comment.

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The Green Bay Packers received some more bad news about the tight end position when Coach Mike Holmgren announced that tight end Henry Lusk may be out four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his right foot.

Lusk was injured in practice Saturday, Holmgren said.

Combined with the loss of Lovell Pinkney, whom Holmgren said left the team for personal reasons, the Packers are a bit thin at tight end.

Lusk, who used to play for the New Orleans Saints, had shown some downfield speed during practices.

“He was doing fine,” Holmgren said. “That was too bad.”

Still, there was some good news for the team: Kyle Wachholtz practiced for the first time in training camp this weekend, since being sidelined with a quadriceps injury.

The recent developments at the position make Wachholtz, who also plays quarterback, the No. 3 tight end behind Mark Chmura and Jeff Thomason.

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The Tennessee Oilers are determined to run the ball more, an intention met with mixed results in their first exhibition game.

The Oilers rushed 30 times for 129 yards in their 21-12 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night in Memphis, a respectable 4.3 yards per carry.

But the projected workhorse of the backfield, Eddie George, was limited to 22 yards on nine carries, with a long of seven yards. In the first half, when the starters were in, the Oilers picked up 56 yards on 18 rushes, a 3.1 average.

Oiler Coach Jeff Fisher said Sunday he’s not concerned yet.

“We were going to run the football and we did it many different ways,” he said. “We didn’t just run the same play over and over. We did all the things we’ll continue to use.”