NFL Notes : Peete Out for Three to Five Weeks

Rookie quarterback Rodney Peete, who earned a starting job with the Detroit Lions during the exhibition season, will miss the first three to five weeks of the National Football League season with a knee injury.

Peete sprained his left knee late in the first half of the Lions’ 24-14 loss to the Rams Saturday night at Anaheim when linebacker Mike Wilcher hit the quarterback as he was throwing a pass interception.

“Peete would have been the first rookie to start for the Lions in a regular-season opener since 1968, when Greg Landry opened against Dallas,” Lions’ spokesman Bill Keenist said Sunday.

Coach Wayne Fontes didn’t name a replacement to start next Sunday against the Phoenix Cardinals in the season opener at the Silverdome.

Fullback Barry Redden, a first-round draft pick by the Rams in 1982 who was traded to San Diego in 1987 for Buford McGee and a second-round draft choice, has been traded again.

The Chargers traded Redden to the Cleveland Browns for future draft considerations. The trade is was made on the condition Redden passes a physical.

Veteran free agent wide receiver Irving Fryar, who was a holdout for all of training camp, signed a five-year contract with the New England Patriots. Reportedly, the base salary is $42. million, with incentives that could total an additional $2.5 million.

Fryar has recovered from a sprained ankle and chip fracture he suffered in a June 3 workout.

The Patriots lost cornerback Ronnie Lippett and defensive end Garin Veris for the season with leg injuries in their final exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers. Lippett ruptured his left Achilles tendon and Veris tore ligaments and cartilage in his left knee.

A third defensive starter, linebacker Andre Tippett will have exploratory surgery on his right shoulder today and will miss at least Sunday’s opener against the New York Jets.

A chunk of the Dallas Cowboys has fallen into the hands of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and officials are looking for a buyer, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The government gained 12% in the Cowboys when the FDIC helped NCNB Corp. of Charlotte, N.C. take over First Republic Bank Corp. of Dallas in July 1988.

First Republic Bank took control of the shares after S. Foster Yancey Jr., L. Bradley Camp and J.L. Huffines, all of whom were limited partners in the franchise, encountered financial problems in their real estate businesses.