Jaguars Defenders Might Miss Opener

The Jacksonville Jaguars could be without two of their top defensive players in the season opener against Dallas.

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud sprained his right ankle in practice Wednesday, missed practice Thursday and hobbled around the locker room on crutches and in a protective boot.

Linebacker Mike Peterson returned to practice, but said he wouldn’t know how his injured right knee reacted to drills until today.

Stroud and Peterson were listed as questionable on the team’s injury report.

“Basically, I should be able to look at my knee today and tell,” Peterson said.

Neither Stroud nor Peterson has missed a game with the Jaguars.

Stroud, the team’s lone Pro Bowl selection the last three years, has played every game during his five seasons.

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Washington Redskins tackle Jon Jansen said it would be “very naive and foolish” to think NFL players aren’t using human growth hormone.

But he backed down from his statement that “maybe 15, 20%” of the league’s players use illegal performance-enhancing substances.

Jansen used those percentages during an interview broadcast Wednesday on HBO’s “Costas Now.” If accurate, that would translate to about 300 players.

“What I meant by it was that it was a small number of players,” Jansen said. “Being a football player, I’m not real good at math.”

Jansen said he was offered illegal substances by someone who was “outside the organization” while recovering from his ruptured Achilles’ tendon in 2004.

“I wear my name on the back of my jersey,” Jansen said. “My wife has my name now and my child has my name. My parents have my name. It’s nothing I’m going to soil just because I want to come back a little faster. It wasn’t a chance that I wanted to take.”

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Clinton Portis, who is listed as questionable for the Redskins’ Monday night opener against the Minnesota Vikings, hasn’t completely lost hope of playing, but he said he was only about 75% recovered from partially dislocating his left shoulder in the exhibition opener against Cincinnati on Aug. 13.

“I would love to go, but at the same time, as the coach told me, if I’m not feeling 100%, don’t get out and chance it,” Portis said. “I’ve still got to get back into football shape.”

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Carolina receiver Steve Smith missed practice again and remains questionable for the season opener against Atlanta.... Tampa Bay rookie offensive lineman Davin Joseph will miss Sunday’s opener against Baltimore after spraining his right knee during practice.... Tedy Bruschi returned to practice with a cast on his surgically repaired right wrist and was listed as questionable for New England’s game Sunday against Buffalo.... Seattle starting outside linebacker Leroy Hill was added to the team’s injury list as questionable for Sunday’s opener at Detroit.