Griese’s Status Is Still Uncertain

The Denver Broncos won’t know for several days if quarterback Brian Griese will miss playing time because of a separated throwing shoulder.

Griese was injured in the first quarter of Denver’s 27-24 victory over Oakland on Monday night, but he returned to the lineup and helped engineer the victory.

“We won’t know for a couple of days the exact extent of the injury,” Coach Mike Shanahan said. “We’ll wait to see how sore he is.”

Bronco owner Pat Bowlen said Griese could be out a “significant period of time,” adding, “It looks bad.”

Griese already was playing with torn cartilage in the same shoulder, which will require off-season surgery.

He insisted the two injuries are unrelated.

Also Tuesday, the Broncos waived receiver Robert Brooks, who had ended his one-year retirement to sign with Denver in August.

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St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner probably will start against the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 3, six weeks after breaking the pinkie on his throwing hand, Ram Coach Mike Martz said.

Warner, 29, had surgery on Oct. 24 to insert two pins into the finger after breaking it in the Rams’ 54-34 loss to Kansas City.

Warner will have the pins extracted from the little finger on his right hand next Tuesday, a week later than originally scheduled. He has begun physical therapy on the finger, Martz said.

“They chose to be a little more aggressive with the physical therapy,” Martz said. “You’ve seen a lot of former ballplayers that have jammed a knuckle or a finger and how crooked it gets. With what Kurt does, it’s important that it’s very straight. That has a lot to do with how you throw the ball.”

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Plaxico Burress, a $9-million bust at receiver in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been benched by Coach Bill Cowher.

Burress, the eighth pick in the April draft, has largely disappeared from the offense in recent weeks, making only four catches for 45 yards in the last four games.

“The play has just been too inconsistent,” Cowher said.

Courtney Hawkins, like Burress a former Michigan State receiver, will start Sunday. He survived the final roster cut in August only when the Steelers waived fourth-round draft pick Danny Farmer of UCLA. Now, Hawkins and Hines Ward are the starting receivers.

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Dallas punter Micah Knorr, who also handled kickoff duties and was the holder on field goals and extra points, is out at least three weeks because of a broken left leg.

“The kickoff situation may be as critical as the punter, maybe more so,” Coach Dave Campo said. “And Micah Knorr did a good job for us in the holding area. That’s a concern, because the execution is every bit as important as the kicking.”

Knorr sustained a hairline fracture during the Cowboys’ 23-6 victory over Cincinnati. Bengal defensive end Reinard Wilson ran into Knorr while trying to block a punt during the second quarter.

Barry Cantrell, a rookie free agent from Fordham, got a tryout Tuesday. Campo said the Cowboys might also look at another punter today.

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New Orleans Saint running back Ricky Williams will have surgery today on the broken left ankle that ended his regular season.

Williams, hurt Sunday against Carolina on a run that gave him exactly 1,000 yards for the year, is expected to need six to eight weeks of rehabilitation.

He and his agent, Leigh Steinberg, consulted with Saints’ team doctors Monday over whether Williams should have surgery. They went to Houston on Tuesday for another doctor’s opinion.

New Orleans signed former Pro Bowl running back Terry Allen for the rest of the season. The team waived wide receiver Charlie Jones to make room on the active roster.

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The Cleveland Browns put guard Jim Bundren on injured reserve because of a broken right ankle. . . . New England Patriot offensive tackle Max Lane will miss the rest of the season because of a broken left leg. . . . The arraignment of Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski in a prescription-drug fraud case was postponed until Dec. 12. . . . The New York Giants re-signed tight end Adam Young to the practice squad and waived receiver Anthony Tucker. . . . Detroit Lion right tackle Aaron Gibson has a severely sprained right shoulder and is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.