Ankle Injury Sidelines Gadsden

Wide receiver Oronde Gadsden of the Miami Dolphins could sit out several weeks of training camp because of a sprained left ankle, but he will not need surgery.

Tests ruled out a break and Gadsden will be re-evaluated. He was carted off the practice field Wednesday and was in a cast Thursday.

“It’s not really day to day,” Coach Dave Wannstedt said Thursday. “It’s more like week to week.”

Gadsden did not re-sign until June 20 and sat out off-season workouts. He is listed behind Chris Chambers and Derrius Thompson on the depth chart.

Gadsden played only six games last season because of a torn ligament in his left wrist. He caught 56 passes in 2000 and 55 in 2001.

Meanwhile, running back Travis Minor returned to practice at Davie, Fla., a week after his father was killed in a Louisiana traffic accident.

Leslie W. Minor, 45, was killed July 24 in his hometown of Baton Rouge, when his motorcycle collided with a van.

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The Philadelphia Eagles signed their first-round draft choice, defensive end Jerome McDougle, to a six-year contract.

The contract would pay McDougle up to $12.6 million with incentives over the first five years, including a $6.1-million signing bonus. A sixth year is voidable if he attains certain performance incentives.

McDougle, 6 feet 4 and 271 pounds, is expected to replace three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Hugh Douglas. The Eagles traded up 15 spots to select McDougle with the 15th pick in April’s draft.

McDougle had 114 tackles and 14 sacks in two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes. To get McDougle, the Eagles sent their top pick -- the 30th overall -- and one of their two second-rounders to the San Diego Chargers.

Douglas left the Eagles in March after five seasons, signing a five-year, $27-million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He led the Eagles with 12 1/2 sacks last season.

Starting running back Duce Staley is the only player still out of camp. Staley, scheduled to earn $2.2 million in the final year of his contract this season, wants an extension.

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Defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, the New Orleans Saints’ first-round draft choice, agreed to terms on a seven-year contract.

The 6-3, 313-pound Sullivan played at Georgia. The Saints traded the 17th and 18th overall picks to Arizona to choose Sullivan with the sixth pick.

Sullivan’s contract includes an $11.4-million signing bonus, his agent said. The total package is worth $19 million.

He can void the final two years of the contract by playing 35% of the defensive plays this season or 45% of the plays in any of the next four seasons.

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First-round pick Dallas Clark has agreed to terms with the Indianapolis Colts.

Clark, from Iowa, the only tight end selected in the first round of the draft, was the Colts’ last holdout.

Clark was selected 24th overall and is expected to be the second tight end in the two-tight-end formations offensive coordinator Tom Moore prefers.

He caught 43 passes for 742 yards and four touchdowns last season before leaving school after his junior year.

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New England running back Mike Cloud underwent calf surgery that could sideline him for an extended period. Coach Bill Belichick said Cloud could miss “significant” time and did not say which leg was injured.

Cloud already had been suspended four games by the NFL for testing positive for a banned steroid, nandrolone. If he made the Patriots’ regular-season roster, he would have to sit out the first four games this year.

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Kansas City Chief wide receiver Dameane Douglas was carried from the field after injuring his knee when Minnesota Viking cornerback Rushen Jones threw him to the ground during a practice at River Falls, Wis.

Chief Coach Dick Vermeil said the extent of the injury was unknown, but that it didn’t look good for the unrestricted free agent.

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The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets kick off the exhibition season Saturday in Tokyo. The game at Tokyo Dome will be the 12th American Bowl played in Japan.