Gardner Is Released by the Panthers

The Carolina Panthers released wide receiver Rod Gardner, who caught only nine passes in 10 games this season after being acquired from the Washington Redskins in a summer trade.

The former first-round draft pick of the Redskins had 84 receiving yards and a touchdown.

“It was a situation where there are other receivers ahead of him on the depth chart and it became fairly apparent to us that he would not be in our long-term plans,” Carolina General Manager Marty Hurney said Friday. “We felt like this was the right opportunity to give Rod a chance to catch on with another team.”

Gardner failed to make an impact, despite the struggles of No. 2 wide receiver Keary Colbert and 37-year-old Ricky Proehl.

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Redskin cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Walt Harris returned to practice, while cornerback Carlos Rogers, linebacker LaVar Arrington and safety Matt Bowen sat out ahead of Sunday’s NFC East showdown with the Dallas Cowboys.

Coach Joe Gibbs remained vague about his injured players, saying that pregame workouts Sunday might determine who can play and who can’t.

“Right now, we’re not sure,” Gibbs said. “We’ll just kind of see as we go.”

Rogers, Arrington and Bowen were downgraded from probable to questionable on the injury report. Rogers has a badly bruised biceps, Arrington has a bruised thigh and Bowen has a knee injury.

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Pittsburgh Steeler cornerback Deshea Townsend has been upgraded to probable despite a sprained neck and is scheduled to start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Townsend got a scare last Sunday when he went numb in his neck and spine after hitting Chicago Bear quarterback Kyle Orton on a blitz. No neurological damage was found in a series of tests and Townsend was allowed to return to practice.

Left tackle Marvel Smith will sit out his fourth game in five weeks because of an injured ankle and will be replaced again by rookie Trai Essex.