NFL Roundup: Patriots' Brady hurts leg

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady left practice Wednesday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass., with an apparent leg injury after throwing a pass, according to multiple reports.

Brady was not hit but fell to the ground before getting up. He then moved tentatively off the field without assistance to meet with coach Bill Belichick, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and trainers before walking to an indoor practice facility.

There was no immediate word on the condition of the leg. In 2008, Brady suffered a left knee injury in the opening game against the Kansas City Chiefs that forced him to miss the rest of the season.

The Patriots were hosting a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

---Off-the-field troubles continue for Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

Miller, who faces an appeal hearing Thursday with the NFL on a four-game suspension, was arrested Sunday on a failure to appear in court for a warrant, KMGH-TV in Denver reported Wednesday.

Miller, 24, failed to show up for a scheduled court date in January after he was charged in October with careless driving, driving without a license and having no proof of insurance.

Miller also is appealing an NFL suspension for an alleged violation of the league's substance abuse policy. NFL Players' Association assistant executive director George Atallah has said the suspension is not for a violation of the league's PED policy.

Miller was at a gun club in Araphoe County at the time of the arrest. He was booked and released Sunday, which was an off-day for the team.

After Miller's representatives meet with NFL officials on Thursday, a league ruling on the appeal is expected before the Broncos' Sept. 5 opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

---J.J. Watt would like to take his talent to the other side of the ball this season.

The standout Houston Texans defensive end expressed a desire to play offense in goal-line situations.

Watt, who led the NFL last season with 20 1/2 sacks, has tried to persuade Texans coach Gary Kubiak to experiment. He plans to keep asking.

"I've been lobbying since Day 1," Watt said. "It hasn't worked yet, so I don't think it's going to work anytime soon, but it's his team."

Watt often joins the receivers to catch balls during practice. He started his college career as a tight end and even lined up at wide receiver for a play in the Pro Bowl earlier this year.

Kubiak is not totally dismissing the idea. In fact, the coaches have discussed a goal-line formation with Watt, who played college ball at Wisconsin, and tight ends Garrett Graham and Owen Daniels.

---New York Jets coach Rex Ryan was brutally honest in his assessment of rookie quarterback Geno Smith's training camp performance on Wednesday.

Smith, who suffered an ankle injury in last Friday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions, was intercepted four times during practice, with three coming during 11-on-11 drills.

"It was brutal. It was Geno's worst day. I think, and obviously, the ankle's part of it, but ... way too many picks and things," Ryan said. "Did not look comfortable today. Obviously, he has to come back from it, he will come back from it.

"It was a bad day. Everybody, we've seen it, guys have bad days. But this was a really bad day for Geno."

Test results showed that Smith sustained no major damage to his right ankle, but when he returned to practice this week, it was heavily taped and limited his mobility.

Ryan said there is a chance that Smith could miss Saturday's preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If that's the case, Mark Sanchez would start.

---Oakland Raiders left tackle Jared Veldheer suffered a torn triceps and will undergo surgery, the team announced.

The Raiders are hoping that Veldheer can return this season but did not offer a timetable on his recovery. He is considered the Raiders' best offensive lineman and was emerging as one of the better tackles in the NFL.

CSNBayArea.com reported that Veldheer, 26, could be placed on injured reserve with the designation to return and coach Dennis Allen also mentioned that possibility to the team. If the Raiders use that tag, Veldheer would be out a mininum of eight weeks during the regular season.

---The Dallas Cowboys remained No. 1 for the seventh consecutive year on Forbes magazine's list of most valuable franchises with an estimated worth of $2.3 billion.

The Cowboys, who last won a Super Bowl in 1996, were well ahead of the New England Patriots, who ranked second at $1.8 billion. Rounding out the top five were the Washington Redskins ($1.7 billion), New York Giants ($1.55 billion) and Houston Texans ($1.45 billion).

The NFC East was the dominant divisions in franchise value with all four teams ranked in the top seven. The Philadelphia Eagles were seventh at $1.31 billion.

The average value of NFL franchises was $1.17 billion, which is significantly higher than Major League Baseball ($744 million), the NBA ($509 million) and the NHL ($282 million). No NFL team declined in value over the previous year.

The nine NFL teams worth less than $1 million are the Arizona Cardinals ($961 million), San Diego Chargers ($949 million), Atlanta Falcons ($933 million), Cincinnati Bengals ($924 million), Detroit Lions ($900 million), St. Louis Rams ($875 million), Buffalo Bills ($870 million), Jacksonville Jaguars ($840 million) and Oakland Raiders ($825 million).

---Robert Griffin III has rebuffed attempts by Donovan McNabb to offer him advice and that is not going over well with the former NFL quarterback.

Griffin said in a GQ interview that "I don't think Donovan is an idiot by any means. But right now, it's probably best that we don't talk."

McNabb, who played one season for the Redskins and coach Mike Shanahan near the end of his career, wanted to speak with Griffin in the spring during his rehab from reconstructive knee surgery after watching the young quarterback spend time with the media.

"I hope the best for the young man, but the direction he's going in is really a direction he does not want to do," McNabb said. "He does not want to go there with me, especially when I got the last word. I'm just trying to help him."

---St. Louis Rams linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar was suspended four games without pay by the NFL for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

After sitting out the first four games of the regular season, Dunbar will be eligible to return to the active roster after a game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 26.

In the meantime, Dunbar is permitted to practice and play in preseason games.

Will Witherspoon, recently signed by the Rams, is expected to move into Dunbar's starting spot until he returns.

---San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Demarcus Dobbs has been suspended without pay for the first game of the 2013 regular season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.

He was arrested in December on a misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge.

Dobbs, who finished last season on injured reserve with a knee injury, will be eligible to return to the active roster the day after the team's Sept. 8 opener against the Green Bay Packers. He is eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.

Dobbs was the only player on the team who played on every special teams unit last season while also being a part of the defensive line rotation and even seeing some snaps at tight end in special packages.

---The NFL and its players union will begin a testing process that will utilize dozens of former NFL players to determine "normal" levels of human growth hormone tolerance, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Part of the collective bargaining agreement ratified by the league and players union two years ago, the testing program, already delayed several times, could begin sometime before the end of the year.

HGH remains banned by the NFL and numerous other professional and amateur sports leagues and organizations. The actual study has not been announced yet, but USA Today learned of its likely implementation by several people who spoke on the subject with the condition of anonymity.

The tentative test sample will number approximately 100 former players, with two-thirds receiving HGH and the other third receiving a placebo. HGH levels will be monitored and measured both before and after the study.

Current NFL players are not part of the testing procedure, but will undergo blood draws to determine a "normal" or "decision" limit, such as the highest amount of HGH a player can have in his system without facing punitive damages or fines.

HGH is produced naturally by the body, stimulates cell reproduction and regeneration. But it can also be produced synthetically and administered artificially to significantly increase the amount of HGH in an individual's system.