Vikings receiver Rice to miss half season, or more, following hip surgery

Brett Favre's job just got a whole lot tougher.

Favre and the Minnesota Vikings will play the first half of the season, or more, without Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice, who had hip surgery this week.

Coach Brad Childress said yesterday that Rice had the procedure in Vail, Colo., on Monday night. He couldn't give a specific timetable for Rice's return, but said typically it takes about 8 weeks before a player can even get back to practice, let alone game action.

"I would think [it will take] probably at least 8 weeks before we're talking about doing anything," Childress said.

It's a huge blow for the Vikings, who have very little depth at receiver. Percy Harvin has struggled with migraines during the preseason, and the team signed veteran Javon Walker yesterday to help out.

After catching just 45 passes during an injury-plagued first two seasons in Minnesota, Rice emerged as Brett Favre's go-to guy in his third season with 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. He earned his first Pro Bowl bid, though he was injured in the playoffs and did not play again.

* New York Jets' two-time Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold became the highest-paid player at his position, signing a 7-year deal that could be worth up to $55 million. The deal includes over $22 million in guaranteed money, a person with knowledge of the contract told the Associated Press.

In other news, while some reports speculated the Jets and holdout cornerback Darrelle Revis were nearing a deal, others indicated that negotiations had stalled. Reavis missed his 24th day since the team reported for training camp. He wants to become the league's highest-paid cornerback, a distinction that belongs to Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, who signed a 3-year, $45.3 million extension last offseason. The Jets would not comment on the reports, citing a confidentiality clause.

Also, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez will wear a protective brace on his surgically repaired left knee "probably forever" to guard against future injuries. The second-year quarterback had the patella-stabilizing ligament in his left knee repaired in February.

* St. Louis Rams backup quarterback Sam Bradford - the top pick of the draft - will start in place of veteran A.J. Feeley in tomorrow night's game at New England. Feeley is sidelined with a sprained right thumb.

* Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey marched over to a group of teenagers in the stands after practice and told them what he thought about their heckling. quarterback Trent Edwards.

"If you dog one of us, you dog all of us," Gailey said in a stern voice, loud enough to be heard 20 yards away. Gailey also said he'd instructed his players to skip that section of the stands for signing autographs on what was the final day of training camp in suburban Rochester, N.Y. In other news, the Bills signed undrafted rookie free agent Andrew George to address their depleted tight end position. The 6-5 George had a career-best 30 catches for 408 yards and five touchdowns at Brigham Young last year. He signed with Carolina in April before being released in June.

* Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith hopes cornerback Brian Williams will be healthy enough to play this week at Miami. The 31-year-old Williams has missed the first two preseason games and a team scrimmage because of a tender right knee that underwent reconstructive surgery last year. The ninth-year veteran started the first five games of 2009 in his first season with the Falcons.

* Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak said rookie kick returner Trindon Holliday will have surgery on his broken left thumb and miss the rest of the season.

* Carolina Panthers backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen returned to practice after missing a day with a sore right big toe, an ailment he expects to linger throughout his rookie season. The former Notre Dame star underwent surgery in January to replace two torn tendons after being injured early last season against Michigan State.

* The NFL's finance committee unanimously recommended approval of Missouri billionaire Stan Kroenke's bid to take full control of the St. Louis Rams. Kroenke, a 63-year-old businessman from Columbia, Mo., already owns 40 percent of the Rams. He is attempting to purchase the 60 percent stake currently held by Chip Rosenbloom and sister Lucia Rodriguez. The price has widely been reported at $750 million.

* Ad sales for NFL games on CBS have recovered so strongly that the network is on pace to bring in record revenue this season. CBS executive vice president John Bogusz said that signs of the recession have all but disappeared - at least when it comes to advertising during pro football games. He said at the network's NFL media day that "the market is extraordinarily strong."