ASHBURN, Va. — It could be a smoke screen or just a cautious assessment of his quarterback's health, but Mike Shanahan says he's not certain Donovan McNabb will be available for the Washington Redskins' season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

"I really don't know for sure," Shanahan said Sunday. "That's why it's day by day. We'll see how it goes."

McNabb hasn't practiced since spraining his left ankle in the second preseason game against Baltimore. He sat out Friday's game against the New York Jets and watched Sunday's practice with a black sleeve on his left leg.

Shanahan said the leg is too sore for McNabb to play Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals, but McNabb likely wouldn't have played in that game anyway because the coach prefers to rest his starters and some of his top backups in the final exhibition to avoid injuries. No. 2 quarterback Rex Grossman said he won't play this week, either, leaving John Beck and Richard Bartel to take the snaps against the Cardinals.

The news from Shanahan was more positive concerning running back Clinton Portis, who sprained his right ankle against the Jets.

"I don't think it's too serious. It's not a big setback," Shanahan said. "I would anticipate him being able to practice in a couple of days."

Fullback Mike Sellers, who missed the Jets game, remains day to day with a sprained left knee. Backup linebacker Perry Riley sprained his right ankle against New York and was wearing a walking boot Sunday.

JETS RELEASE COLES, LOSE PACE WITH BROKEN FOOT: The Jets have released Laveranues Coles, a move that likely signals the end of the popular wide receiver's career.

The 32-year-old Coles, signed to his third tour with the Jets last month, had four catches for 19 yards in three preseason games. New York brought him back after one season with Cincinnati as insurance while Santonio Holmes sits out a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Coles insisted throughout training camp that this would be his last stop. He has 674 career catches for 8,609 yards and 49 touchdowns

The Jets also have waived wide receivers Aundrae Allison and Marcus Henry, and defensive lineman Rodrique Wright, putting them at 75 players ahead of Tuesday's mandatory league-wide cutdown. Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace will miss a few weeks with a broken right foot, meaning New York's top pass rusher could be sidelined for at least the first game of the regular season.

Pace will have surgery Monday in North Carolina, after leaving the Jets' preseason loss to the Washington Redskins in the third quarter Friday night.

Coach Rex Ryan said Sunday it's too early to speculate how long Pace will be sidelined. He says it's "safe to say" he'll be out for the opener against Baltimore.

Pace led the team with eight sacks last season.

Ryan also says he has talked to former Ravens linebacker Adalius Thomas and says signing him to help replace Pace "could be a possibility."

BRYANT RELEASED BY BENGALS: The Cincinnati Bengals have released wide receiver Antonio Bryant, who got a four-year, $28 million deal in March but has been sidelined by a bad knee during training camp.

Also on Sunday, the Bengals put safety Gibril Wilson on injured reserve with damaged ligaments in his left knee and they waived rookie long snapper Mike Windt.

The Bengals chose Bryant over receiver Terrell Owens in March, thinking he was a better complement to receiver Chad Ochocinco. Bryant had surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee last year, and it began bothering him over the summer.

The Bengals signed Owens at the start of camp, giving them another option. Bryant didn't appear in any of the four preseason games.

THUMBS UP FOR BUSH: Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush will undergo surgery on his broken left thumb.

Coach Tom Cable said Sunday there's a good chance Bush could recover in time to play in the season opener Sept. 12 in Tennessee. Cable says he will know more about Bush's status after Monday's operation.

Bush is being counted on to share the running load with Darren McFadden this season. He broke the thumb when he was hit on the hand by a helmet on his final carry Saturday against San Francisco.

Cable also said the stinger that knocked quarterback Jason Campbell out of the exhibition loss to the 49ers is not serious. Cable says Campbell also hurt his right wrist in the game, which is more of an immediate concern.

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ROETHLISBERGER, GOODELL TO MEET: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after the team's final preseason game to see if his suspension will be reduced from six games to four.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed a report by Fox Sports on Sunday night that the two will meet soon, but he declined to say when or where the meeting would take place.

Roethlisberger was suspended for six games after being accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student in March. He was not criminally charged in the case.

If Roethlisberger's suspension is reduced to four games, he'll be back for their game against Cleveland on Oct. 17.

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