Lions release running back Best

T HE DETROIT LIONS released running back Jahvid Best yesterday after concussion problems prevented the former first-round draft pick from playing at all in 2012.

Best hasn't played since October 2011, and his return was looking increasingly unlikely. Best agreed to a 5-year deal with the Lions after they drafted him 30th overall in 2010, but he's played only 22 games.

"Jahvid is as fine a person and professional as I have ever worked with," Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said. "He was the consummate teammate and always did everything asked of him. We wish Jahvid the very best in all his future endeavors and have no doubt that he will be successful in whatever path he chooses."

Best accounted for 1,000-plus yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, but he was limited to six games during the 2011 season after what he said was the third concussion of his football career. He hasn't played since a loss to San Francisco in 2011.

Best also missed time during the preseason that year because of a concussion, and when he was a college player at California, he missed a few games after a fall knocked him out and sent him to the hospital with a concussion and sore back.

"I want to thank the Detroit Lions organization for drafting me and giving me an opportunity to fulfill my dream and play in the National Football League," Best said in a statement.

Detroit signed Reggie Bush in the offseason to help boost its inconsistent running game.

* Tampa Bay kicker Connor Barth will miss the upcoming season with a torn Achilles' tendon and the team has signed two-time Super Bowl winner Lawrence Tynes as his replacement.

Barth, who underwent surgery on Monday, will be placed on the non-football injury list.

Tynes is a ninth-year pro who spent the past six seasons with the New York Giants, helping them win NFL titles in 2007 and 2011. He was a Pro Bowl alternate last season.

* The Miami Dolphins said team CEO Mike Dee is leaving to become president and CEO of the San Diego Padres, where he began his career as a sports executive. Dee has been the CEO of the Dolphins and their home Sun Life Stadium since 2009, and his job change comes about 2 months after the team was denied public money for a stadium upgrade by Florida's Legislature.

Dee was with the Padres from 1995 through 2002, ending his first stint there as their executive vice president of business affairs.

* Former NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper has lost a Florida home he owned to a bank in a foreclosure case.

Broward County court records show the nearly 10,000-square-foot home was surrendered in April to SunTrust Bank in lieu of foreclosure. The bank dropped its lawsuit against Culpepper earlier this month.

Culpepper bought the house for about $3.6 million when he was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2006. The bank cited $3 million in debt in court papers.