Texans WR Johnson dislocates finger but avoids serious injury

HOUSTON -- Texans All-Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson will miss "a day or two" of practice after dislocating his left index finger in a morning workout.

Coach Gary Kubiak said Johnson will be OK.

"I think we got lucky," Kubiak said.

Johnson wore a bandage on his finger as he watched the Tuesday afternoon walk-through from the sideline.

Johnson was running a slant route in an individual drill and leaped to catch a pass, with rookie cornerback Roc Carmichael defending. Johnson couldn't make the catch and came down shaking his left hand. He took off his glove, his finger was bleeding and he walked to the sideline, where a trainer examined him.

"As soon as I felt it pop, I felt it out of place and I popped it right back in," Johnson said. "I really wasn't in a lot of pain, or anything like that. It was just more concern about the bleeding and stuff."

Johnson left the field on a cart and went to the hospital. He was back at Reliant Stadium by 1 p.m., eating lunch in the cafeteria with his teammates.

"I wasn't scared," Johnson said. "It's just a dislocated finger. I've had worse. I don't think I'll be worried about a finger keeping me from missing anything."

The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Johnson had 86 catches for 1,216 yards last season, ranking sixth in both categories. He played most of 2010 with a sprained right ankle and underwent surgery in January -- a much more serious injury than this one, he said.

"It's just a finger," Johnson said. "I played with a bum ankle. I don't think a finger is going to keep me out. I'm fine. I'm just letting it heal up, and I'll be right back out there."

Kubiak said he'll wait for doctors to clear Johnson to return to work.

"When he's ready to go, he'll go," Kubiak said. "But it's an opportunity for these younger guys to take some reps."

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Second-year receiver Dorin Dickerson took Johnson's first-team reps for the remainder of practice. Kubiak also said cornerback Jason Allen and guard Wade Smith missed some snaps on Tuesday, due to illness.

Linebacker Brian Cushing has sat out team drills for the first two days as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery. Cushing had an ice wrap on his knee after Tuesday's morning workout but participated in the afternoon walk-through.

"He's a few days away," Kubiak said of Cushing. "I'll have to let you know from day to day. He's the one guy we had who wasn't quite ready to go on the field (on Monday). We're just trying to take our time to do that."

Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith acknowledged on Tuesday that the team is talking to two free agents - defensive end Ty Warren and fullback Lawrence Vickers.

The 6-5, 300-pound Warren was cut by New England after playing for the Patriots from 2003-09. He spent last season on injured reserve with a hip injury. The 6-foot, 250-pound Vickers has played five seasons with Cleveland. Houston is looking to replace All-Pro fullback Vonta Leach, who helped Arian Foster lead the NFL in rushing in 2010.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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'Serious' NFL-player meetings to resume frequently in future

NFL owners and players concluded two days of what were described as "very serious talks" Wednesday, according to sources, in an attempt to build off last week's secret negotiations in suburban Chicago and work toward a resolution to end the three-month-old lockout.

The exact location of this set of talks remains unknown, though they are believed to have taken place in a Long Island, N.Y., hotel.

According to sources, these meetings are expected to happen frequently for the foreseeable future and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the negotiations would eventually resume.

"NFL owners and players have engaged in further confidential discussions before Chief Magistrate Judge Boylan this week," Aiello posted on his Twitter account Wednesday. "Those discussions will continue."

According to Aiello, NFL attendees at this week's meetings included Commissioner Roger Goodell and owners Jerry Richardson (Carolina Panthers), Clark Hunt (Kansas City Chiefs), Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), John Mara (New York Giants) and Dean Spanos (San Diego Chargers). All five owners are members of the NFL's labor committee.

The players were represented by NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and NFLPA executive committee members Kevin Mawae (president), Domonique Foxworth (Baltimore Ravens), Tony Richardson (New York Jets), Jeff Saturday (Indianapolis Colts) and Mike Vrabel (Kansas City Chiefs).

Goodell later held a conference call with season ticket holders of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his 19th such call with NFL ticket holders this offseason. According to a Twitter post from Aiello, Goodell told fans that "talks are going on. Both sides are working hard to reach an agreement. That's a positive step for everybody."

"We are going to continue to work at it," Goodell continued. "I believe both sides want to find solutions. I'm hopeful we're going to be successful. It's the objective of everybody involved with the NFL to play a full 2011 season."

When one Bucs fan told the commissioner he was praying for him, Goodell responded, "I appreciate your prayers. I'll take any help I can get."

Last week's secret meetings lasted three days, running up to Friday's hearing at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on the NFL's appeal of a lockout-lifting injunction granted to the players by a district court. After that set of talks, the league and players put out a joint statement.

"The parties met pursuant to court mediation," the statement said. "Owners and players were engaged in confidential discussions before Chief Magistrate Judge Boylan. The court has ordered continued confidentiality of the mediation sessions."

The most recent negotiations included a few changes from the parties who were at the table during last week's sessions. Richardson, Kraft and Mara were joined by Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and Art Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers) -- both members of the NFL's labor committee -- last week, as were active players Brian Dawkins (Denver Broncos), Vrabel, Richardson and Saturday.

The setup of this week's talks was scheduled to be similar, taking place over several days as both sides try to build momentum from one session to the next and find some consistency with the dynamics of the negotiations. The most recent sessions were unexpected after Boylan publicly cancelled the court-ordered mediation set to begin on Tuesday. Sources said Boylan moved to cancel this week's mediation in the interest of confidentiality.

When asked about the next meeting during an appearance at a military base in Fort Bragg, N.C., last Friday, Goodell said, "We will be meeting again." Goodell declined to comment on when, but did strike an optimistic tone.

"I think it's fair to say anytime you have dialogue directly, that's going to lead to progress," he told reporters. "I think we need more of that. As you've heard me say many times, I think this is going to be solved through bargaining, not through litigation. So that (Chicago meeting) was a positive sign for us."

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Steelers' Harrison suggests NFL not serious about player safety

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison isn't letting up in his criticism of the NFL in the days leading up to the Super Bowl.

One day after sarcastically suggesting that a pillow could be used to soften blows he delivers to opponents, Harrison called the NFL's talk about wanting to protect players "just a show."

Harrison said before Wednesday's practice in Fort Worth, Texas, that the owners' push for an 18-game regular season and the possibility of a lockout prove the NFL is more interested in maximizing revenue than the health of its players.

"It's not about player safety," Harrison said. "It's about money."

The league and the players' union face an early March deadline for trying to negotiate a new labor agreement.

"It's no doubt to me," said Harrison, whose Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers for the NFL championship Sunday. "I believe they're going to lock us out."

Harrison was fined $100,000 by the NFL for illegal hits this season, and he even went briefly so far as to threaten to retire because he said it was too difficult to adjust to the new way rules were being enforced. On Wednesday, though, he acknowledged that any talk of quitting was a result of being "hotheaded."

Asked Wednesday if he's worried about the dangers of concussion from violent hits on the field, he said: "That's my style of play. There's a risk with everything you do. ... Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, that's how you play the game."

At Tuesday's media day at Cowboys Stadium, Harrison said he feels as if the league was "looking for a poster boy" when it started fining him.

In a deadpan delivery, Harrison said: "I don't want to hurt nobody. I don't want to step on nobody's foot or hurt their toe. I don't want to have no dirt or none of this rubber on this field fly into their eye and make their eye hurt.

"I just want to tackle them softly on the ground and, if y'all can, we'll lay a pillow down where I'm going to tackle them, so they don't hit the ground too hard, Mr. Goodell."

Harrison, who paid more in fines this season for four different hits than the entire Packers team was docked, also was asked if he was bitter about the attention his physical play received from the NFL office this season.

"They took $100,000 out of my pocket," Harrison responded to NFL Network's Kara Henderson. "You think I'm not bitter?"

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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