The Sports Xchange

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will not play Sunday and risk further injury against the Carolina Panthers.

Brees suffered a bruised rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“He’ll be out for this game,” coach Sean Payton announced Friday. “He’ll travel. I think just where he’s at in the rehab and the strength, I think he felt — I think we all felt — like it would be too early him playing this weekend. And I would say next week then, continue the process without trying to put an estimation on his return. He felt like he made progress throughout the week, and yet it’s still not where it needs to be or where we would feel comfortable with the strength that he needs. But he did get better each day, and we’ll just see where it’s at next week.”

The Saints will start Luke McCown against the Panthers, with Garrett Grayson as the backup.

Brees, 36, has never missed a regular-season game due to injury in his 10 years with the Saints, which began after he recovered from major shoulder surgery in 2006.

—Standout middle linebacker Luke Kuechly is expected to miss his second consecutive game due to a concussion when the Panthers face the Saints.

Kuechly was listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report but coach Ron Rivera indicted that he will probably be downgraded to out on Saturday.

“He saw the doctor but he’s still in the protocol,” Rivera told reporters. “We’re just trying to be smart and go through the process of the protocol.”

—The NFL filed a motion in federal appeals court requesting an expedited hearing on its appeal of the court’s ruling regarding the suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

The NFL Players Association has agreed to that request.

The appeal is unlikely to be heard until early next year, after the regular season is over. Arguments in the case could possibly be heard before the NFL postseason is completed. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2016.

In its motion, the NFL suggested that opening briefs be due by Oct. 26, with NFLPA responses due by Dec. 7 and the NFL’s response to the NFLPA due Dec. 21. The league requested that oral arguments to be scheduled in January 2016 or soon after.

The NFL originally suspended Brady for the first four games of the regular season for his alleged part in the presence of improperly inflated footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Brady appealed his suspension to the NFL, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the suspension in July.

However, Brady then appealed the suspension in federal court, and U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman overturned the suspension on Sept. 3, allowing Brady to play immediately. The NFL is now appealing Berman’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

—Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, coach Pete Carroll announced.

Lynch is battling a calf ailment and was listed as questionable on Seattle’s Friday injury report. Lynch suffered the injury during last Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

Lynch is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry through two games after averaging more than four yards per carry each of the past four years. He has 114 yards and no touchdowns this season.

Strong safety Kam Chancellor is likely to play after ending his lengthy holdout earlier this week. Carroll said Chancellor’s snaps will be monitored.

“He’s looked like he’s in rare form,” Carroll said. “But he may be a little rusty, and we’ll try to protect him and make sure he doesn’t play too much.”

—Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall could be sidelined for three to four weeks, perhaps longer, after suffering a Grade 2 partial ligament tear in his toe during Thursday night’s loss to the New York Giants, head coach Jay Gruden announced.

The recovery time remains uncertain because it has not yet been determined whether Hall will need surgery. This is the second year in a row that Hall, 31, is likely to miss extended playing time because of an injury. He started the first three games last year before an Achilles injury ended his season. Hall started the first three games this year before the toe injury occurred.

—Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray returned to full practice and is expected to play against the New York Jets on Sunday despite being officially listed as questionable.

Murray missed part of practice Wednesday and underwent an MRI on his hamstring, and then he missed all of practice Thursday.

Coach Chip Kelly said Murray would be evaluated after Friday and Saturday practices, but a team source told ESPN that “he’ll be fine, he’ll play” Sunday. Murray injured the hamstring during Wednesday’s practice and left early. Kelly called it a “tweak.”

—Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Eagles, according to coach Todd Bowles.

Revis has been dealing with a groin injury and was a limited practice participant on both Thursday and Friday. The team listed him as questionable and a decision will be made after he works out prior to the game.

Wide receiver Eric Decker (knee), running back Chris Ivory (quadriceps) and guard Willie Colon (knee) also were listed as questionable. Cornerback Darrin Walls (hamstring) is doubtful, while receiver Chris Owusu (knee) and linebacker Trevor Reilly (finger) have been ruled out.

—Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is listed as probable and expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Tannehill is dealing with ankle and back injuries. He injured the ankle in last Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville but the back issues were revealed for the first time on Friday when Tannehill was limited in practice. He practiced fully on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Left tackle Branden Albert (hamstring) is doubtful after missing three straight practices.

—Houston Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins is hopeful of playing in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol and hasn’t been cleared to play.

Hopkins practiced on Friday and was listed as probable by the Texans. But coach Bill O’Brien emphasized Hopkins had more steps to take before he can return.

“He’s got to pass the test before he’s allowed to play,” O’Brien said after practice. “He practiced today. He looked all right.”

Hopkins suffered the concussion in last Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

O’Brien also confirmed that running back Arian Foster (groin) isn’t yet ready to return.

—Buccaneers tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was officially ruled out of the game at Houston with a shoulder injury that reportedly could sidelined him 4-6 weeks.

Veterans Brandon Myers and Luke Stocker are expected to see increased snaps in Seferian-Jenkins’ absence. Neither has a reception this season.

Wide receiver Mike Evans practiced all week and is listed as probable with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the season opener and limited his snaps last week. He’s expected to see an increased workload at Houston.

—The NFL has sent a memo to teams reminding them that league policy prohibits public criticism of officiating or opponents’ tactics.

Pro Football Talk reported Friday, per a source with knowledge of the situation, that the league sent the two-page memo to all 32 teams.

“We ask that you contact a member of the Football Operations department,” the memo stated, “rather than making a public comment that may draw significant and unwanted public scrutiny. Such prohibited public statement may include specific statements about opposing coaches, players or the organization as a whole. … Innuendos and indirect statements will also be considered prohibited under the policy.”

The memo specifically points out that teams should not share information provided by vice president of officiating Dean Blandino regarding officiating decisions made during games, according to the report.

—Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton admits the offense is falling far short of expectations and he should get the bulk of the blame — not quarterback Andrew Luck.

Luck earlier this week took “100 percent” of the blame for the Colts’ 0-2 start.

Hamilton said it is his responsibility to fix the problem.

“We have not done our job,” Hamilton said Thursday. “I have not put our guys in position to be successful and to put our guys in position to produce.”

The Colts are last in the league in scoring (10.5 per game) despite skill-position talent and one of the game’s best young quarterbacks in Luck.

—The Colts elevated cornerback Eric Patterson to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and waived/injured cornerback Sheldon Price.

If Price clears waivers, he will revert to the Colts’ injured reserve list.

The 5-foot-10, 193-pound Patterson was signed to the Colts’ practice squad on Wednesday. He previously spent one week on the active roster for Indianapolis and recorded two tackles in Week 2 against the New York Jets on Monday night.

—Michael Sam, who decided to take a break from playing football when he quit the Montreal Alouettes last month, plans on trying to make an NFL roster in 2016.

Sam was the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team when he was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams last year. He was released by the Rams during the preseason and later picked up and let go by the Dallas Cowboys, before playing on and off in the Canadian Football League.

“I’ll try to pursue my NFL career,” Sam told ABC-17 in Missouri on Thursday. “Taking a break this year was very smart. I think it was one of the smartest things I’ve done in a long time.”

Sam said he has fired his agent and publicist and is focusing on his media training.

Sam, who said he reached a point where he was worried about his own mental health when he decided to leave the Alouettes, has been at the University of Missouri, where he has been working on his master’s degree. Sam was co-defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference while at Missouri.

—The Chicago Bears signed defensive lineman Mitch Unrein and waived defensive lineman Lavar Edwards.

Unrein has appeared in 56 games with three starts over five seasons with the Denver Broncos (2011-14) and San Diego Chargers (2015), recording 49 tackles, six quarterback hits and one fumble recovery. He appeared in six postseason games with Denver, recording six tackles.

Unrein played for current Bears head coach John Fox with the Broncos before signing with the Chargers this offseason. He appeared in each of the first two games for San Diego and recorded one tackle before being released Thursday.

—The New England Patriots signed defensive lineman Joe Vellano to the practice squad.

The team also released linebacker Eric Martin from the practice squad.