Saints Take a Chance on Collins

Kerry Collins was claimed on waivers by the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, one week after losing his job as starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers amid criticism that his heart wasn’t in the game.

Collins broke his weeklong silence about his demotion and subsequent release from the Panthers, saying he never told Coach Dom Capers that he didn’t want to play any more.

“That hurt,” Collins told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. “That wasn’t what I was trying to get across. At no point did I say that.”

Collins said he met with Capers last Wednesday to talk about his frustrations with the way the season was going. By the end of the meeting, Collins had been demoted to the team’s third-string quarterback, and six days later, he was waived.

“Everything happened so fast. It just got out of hand, really, and before I knew it, it was too late,” Collins said. “I feel bad about it. Obviously, this is very hard for me. I never said my heart wasn’t in it.”

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Jacksonville Jaguar safety Mike Logan was fined $20,000 by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino in Monday night’s game. Logan planned to appeal.

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Glenn Foley’s poor outing in St. Louis last weekend has, for now, cost him his job as New York Jets’ quarterback.

Vinny Testaverde, 2-0 in Foley’s injury-related absence earlier this season, will start Monday night at New England.

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Don’t expect to see Brad Johnson play this month.

The Minnesota Vikings won’t regain their starting quarterback until the Nov. 1 trip to Tampa Bay at the earliest, Coach Dennis Green said. Johnson is scheduled for X-rays on his broken right leg this week.

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Blaming it on tardiness in taking his medication, Denver Bronco running back Terrell Davis left practice early because of a migraine headache.

Davis, who has been battling migraines since childhood and is expected to practice today, uses a medication called Indocin to prevent the headaches.

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The Chicago Bears should play their NFL home games at the White Sox’s home park, according to Mayor Richard Daley.

Daley is offering city funds to remodel Comiskey Park for football.

“Taxpayers built that facility. We could round it out, build a football field and a baseball field,” Daley said.

Ted Phillips, the Bears’ vice president of operations, said he didn’t like the Comiskey Park idea.