Aikman Won’t Play Against the Redskins

Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman won’t play Monday night against the Washington Redskins, the team announced.

“This decision has been made for this week’s game only, and we will proceed accordingly with further evaluation next week,” Cowboy owner Jerry Jones said in a posting Friday on the team’s Web site.

Aikman, who suffered his ninth career concussion in a season-opening loss to Philadelphia, practiced with the team two days this week.

Randall Cunningham will make his second consecutive start. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona.

When asked if he still had headaches or any other lingering effects from the latest concussion, Aikman provided an evasive answer.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss some of the things that I’ve experienced or haven’t experienced or where I’m at with all of those things,” Aikman said. “Those are things being discussed with the doctors, and that evaluation process is obviously the reason why we haven’t come to a clear-cut answer yet.”

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Washington kicker Brett Conway could miss the game against Dallas because of a right leg injury.

Conway aggravated a quad muscle in practice Thursday--the same injury that caused him to miss nearly all of training camp--and missed practice Friday. He’ll be evaluated today to further determine his status.

“He certainly couldn’t kick today if we had a game,” Coach Norv Turner said. “They said he’s probable. I would expect him to kick against Dallas, but I’m concerned.”

Conway finished second in the NFC in scoring last season with 115 points and is three for three on field goals and conversions this season. The team said it would give seven-year veteran Michael Husted a tryout today.

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Miami Dolphin defensive tackle Daryl Gardener is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing back surgery.

The team hopes Gardener, who hasn’t missed a game in his five-year NFL career, will be able to return this season, although no timetable has been set. He had a herniated disc in his lower back.

His streak of 66 consecutive games played will end Sunday night when Miami plays Baltimore.

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Denver Bronco running back Terrell Davis practiced for the third consecutive day despite a sprained left ankle and, although he again had no physical contact, Coach Mike Shanahan expects him to start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

“It’s still not there,” Shanahan said of Davis’ ankle strength, “but I think he can take a shot on the ankle without further injuring it.”

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Jacksonville Jaguar kicker Mike Hollis might need a second operation to repair an injured sciatic nerve in his lower back and is questionable for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati, the team said.

Hollis, who underwent surgery in January 1999 to repair the injury, felt pain before last Sunday’s 39-36 loss to Baltimore that dropped Jacksonville to 1-1. He still was able to make all five of his field-goal attempts.

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Ryan Leaf lost his job as San Diego’s starting quarterback. Now he’s giving advice to his coach.

“I just think it’s kind of stupid to go with a quarterback for two games, then another quarterback comes in and plays three games,” Leaf said after losing the top spot to Moses Moreno.

“Stick with the kid. If Moses comes in, stick with him. Let him play it out and let him, if times turn rough, go down with him and don’t take him out to save his face.”

In San Diego’s opening losses to Oakland and New Orleans, Leaf had five passes intercepted and had a 33.4 quarterback rating.

“I don’t think this is the end of the world for Ryan,” Coach Mike Riley said. “I think Ryan will be a great quarterback.”

Leaf, the second pick overall in the 1998 draft, had a different take on his future.

“I don’t think I’ll be the starter again unless Moses goes down or is hurt,” Leaf said. “It’s not in my hands. I did the most I could to put myself out on the football field.”

The Chargers lost the opening two games by a combined four points, but Leaf didn’t think his job was in jeopardy.

“It surprised me to start Moses,” Leaf said. “Although, any time you start off 0-2 in this league, it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise. . . . If I knew it was going to be a two-game audition, why did I even get the starts in the first place?”

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NFL Films will put a small microphone on one player and follow him with two cameras during the first half of each Monday night game for a two-minute piece to air at halftime of ABC’s telecast.

The feature will be introduced during Monday’s game between Dallas and Washington.