Jets Lose Pennington to Wrist Injuries

Quarterback Chad Pennington of the New York Jets dislocated and fractured his left wrist during a 15-14 exhibition victory over the New York Giants on Saturday night and is out indefinitely.

Pennington was tackled from behind by Brandon Short after throwing away a pass with just under two minutes remaining in the first half at East Rutherford, N.J., and landed awkwardly on his wrist.

He had X-rays at Giants Stadium, which revealed the fracture-dislocation, and was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York for immediate surgery.

The Jets do not know how long their starting quarterback will be out, and said Pennington’s status would be determined after surgery.

Vinny Testaverde, who turns 40 in November, entered the exhibition game in place of Pennington.

To make matters worse, third-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger sprained his left knee. Coach Herman Edwards did not know the severity of the injury, but said the Jets may look for another quarterback.

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In other exhibition games:

With Cleo Lemon at quarterback, San Diego drove 32 yards to set up Mackenzie Hoambrecker’s 36-yard field goal with 20 seconds left as the Chargers beat the Houston Texans, 19-17, at Houston.... Jeff Garcia completed six of seven passes for 44 yards in his return to San Francisco’s lineup, as the 49ers beat New Orleans, 27-12 , at San Francisco.... Pro Bowl right guard Marco Rivera sprained his left knee in Green Bay’s 20-7 loss to Carolina at Green Bay, Wis..... Thomas Jones scored on a four-yard touchdown run and Martin Gramatica returned from a two-week layoff to kick a 24-yard field goal as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 10-6, at Tampa Bay.... Trent Dilfer played for the first time since the midpoint of last season, completing 12 of 14 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-31, at Seattle.

Steve McNair put on another impressive passing performance in leading the Tennessee Titans to scores on all three first-half possessions as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-15, at Cincinnati. McNair completed 13 of 17 passes for 167 yards a touchdown.... Joey Harrington completed 15 of 20 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown in Detroit’s 38-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns at Detroit.... Marshall Faulk scored twice, including a 26-yard pass from Kurt Warner, in the St. Louis Rams’ 28-24 loss to Buffalo at Orchard Park, N.Y..... Patrick Ramsey completed eightof 13 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown to lead the Washington Redskins to a 24-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at Landover, Md. First-round draft choice Kyle Boller, competing with Chris Redman for Baltimore’s starting quarterback job, played the first half and completed 14 of 20 for 101 yards.

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Quincy Carter was named the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys after two consistent and turnover-free exhibition starts.

“I do think Carter gives us the best chance right now,” first-year Cowboy Coach Bill Parcells said Saturday. “Hopefully, he will continue to improve as he has through the course of the camp.”

Parcells chose Carter over Chad Hutchinson, who started the last nine games last season after replacing Carter.

In the last two exhibition games, Carter has completed 18 of 29 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Carter was eight of 12 for 67 yards in Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh. A week earlier against Houston, he was 10 for 17 for 141 yards, including six passes to six receivers for 90 yards on a 96-yard touchdown drive.

Hutchinson and undrafted rookie Tony Romo are the only other quarterbacks after Clint Stoerner was one of five players cut Saturday.

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Running back Duce Staley of the Philadelphia Eagles ended his 27-day holdout and reported to camp.

Staley met with Coach Andy Reid after arriving in Philadelphia and will report to practice today, team spokesman Derek Boyko said.

Staley, entering his seventh NFL season, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $2.2 million this season. He has been fined $5,000 for each day of the holdout, for a total of $135,000.

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Brian Griese, the Miami Dolphins’ new backup quarterback, suffered ligament damage to his left big toe Friday night during an exhibition victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the team learned Saturday. He’ll sit out the final exhibition Thursday at New Orleans, but he’s not expected to need surgery or be sidelined for an extended period.

In Griese’s absence, Sage Rosenfels becomes the No. 2 quarterback behind Jay Fiedler. In two seasons, Rosenfels has thrown three passes -- all incomplete.

Griese entered the game in the second half, and the injury occurred on his third play when he scrambled and stubbed his toe before completing a pass. He stayed in for eight more plays, leading a 64-yard touchdown drive, then walked to the locker room for X-rays.