Alexander practices, likely to play

Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was back practicing Wednesday afternoon for the first time since he sprained his ankle 3 1/2 weeks ago and said he will play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Alexander got most of the carries with the offense, his first work since spraining his left knee Nov. 4 in a loss at Cleveland.

Saying his ankle and thumb have improved from injuries suffered Nov. 18 against Miami, Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb pronounced himself closer to returning but is still uncertain for the Seattle game.

“I feel a lot closer, but you have to be smart about the whole situation,” McNabb said.

Meanwhile, Coach Andy Reid defused talk of a quarterback controversy between McNabb and A.J. Feeley, saying, “When Donovan’s ready to come back physically then he’ll be the starting quarterback. Let’s not confuse words here.”

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth made it through most of practice for the first time since hurting his right hamstring Nov. 4 but was still unsure about playing.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle is questionable for Sunday against San Diego after missing practice because of a sore back. He was injured Sunday against Oakland.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger was held out of practice, three days after sustaining a concussion, and his status remained in doubt for Sunday against Atlanta.

Arizona Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers apologized for striking an NFL Films video camera with his helmet and hurting the unidentified cameraman as he left the field following Sunday’s overtime loss to San Francisco. Rackers had just missed what would have been a winning 32-yard field goal. . . . Even after slogging their way to victory over Miami on as bad a field as the NFL has seen in years Monday night, Pittsburgh Steelers players were lobbying hard for the team to resist any NFL pressure to install artificial turf.