Dallas Cowboys: Familiarity sometimes breeds contracts, not contempt, and nobody understands that better right now than tailback Adrian Murrell, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher.

Despite being out of the NFL each of the last two seasons, Murrell on Wednesday joined the Dallas Cowboys, as the team battled potential depth problems at tailback. One of the keys to the deal is that Murrell played under coach Bill Parcells with the New York Jets in 1997, knows the offense, and offers veteran experience.

Owner Jerry Jones stressed that the addition of Murrell was not a reflection of concern with nominal starter Troy Hambrick, but rather a reaction to a lingering shoulder injury that has slowed Michael Wiley. The tailback is believed to have a rotator cuff problem and on Tuesday got a second opinion, the results of which the Cowboys are awaiting.

Parcells told The Associated Press that he had no complaints about Hambrick and just wants to see Murrell.

"He was a 1,000-yard rusher several times, so he had good running skills, and I'm just turning over every rock," Parcells said. "I know the player well and just want to see if there is anything left. He understands, I understand. We had that discussion."

Murrell, 32, last played with the Washington Redskins in 2000, rushing for only 50 yards. But the former West Virginia standout posted 1,000-yard seasons 1996-98, the first two with the Jets and the last with the Arizona Cardinals. A tough inside runner with some power between the tackles, he became expendable in New York when the Jets signed Curtis Martin to be their feature back.

In eight seasons with the Jets (1993-97), Cardinals (1998-99) and the Redskins (2000), Murrell played in 119 games and started 67 of them. He rushed for 5,092 yards and 23 touchdowns on 1,347 carries. He also had 210 catches for 1,337 yards and five scores.

While his conditioning is said to be good, Murrell weighed in at 222 pounds, and Jones allowed he will have to drop about six or seven pounds.

-- Len Pasquarelli

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jags on Wednesday released veteran defensive tackle Larry Smith, the first of the three players in training camp who succumbed to a heat-related illness. The move came after Jacksonville officials tried for at least two days to trade Smith, a four-year veteran and former second-round draft choice.

"We decided to cut our ties to Larry Smith and we're moving forward," rookie coach Jack Del Rio said. "We feel he has the talent to play in the league, but he hadn't yet made the commitment we're looking for."

Smith was regarded as out of shape and undisciplined. He participated in fewer than 20 snaps on July 27 when he fell out from the heat and had largely been practicing just once a day since then. Smith, 28, didn't help his cause when he was late to Tuesday's practice. The Jaguars would have accepted a low-round draft pick in return for Smith, but no one even offered that.

In four seasons, Smith recorded 98 tackles and four sacks while playing in 51 games and starting in seven of them. He was an unrestricted free agent this spring but garnered very little attention and eventually re-signed with the Jaguars, who told him he had a chance to oust 2002 first-round pick John Henderson from his starting spot.

--Len Pasquarelli

New England Patriots: The Pats signed two players who were cut by the Cowboys, second-year offensive guard Marques McFadden and rookie wide receiver DeVeren Johnson.

New England also placed undrafted wide receiver Dan Stricker on injured reserve.

-- Associated Press

Cincinnati Bengals: Carson Palmer, bothered by soreness on the sole of his right foot since a May minicamp, tore the plantar fascia tendon in that foot Sunday against the New York Jets, the Cincinnati Post reported Wednesday.

Palmer sat out practice on Tuesday, but is not expected to miss much time, according to the paper.

Palmer told the paper that the tendon ripping is a "good thing" because the normal procedure to fix it is minor surgery to remove or release the tendon. Now, no surgery will be needed, and Palmer is expected to be available for Saturday's preseason home opener against Detroit, according to the report.

"I have to have it checked out with a doctor (today) and hopefully be able to go then," said Palmer to the Post. "It started being sore the last couple of days of the mini-camp. I'd been stretching it out during the time we had off, but it's been bugging me a little bit. I haven't been able to sprint since that mini-camp ended."

Head coach Marvin Lewis wasn't concerned about Palmer missing much action.

"I've had that before. It's an injury that a lot of joggers and runners get," said Lewis to the paper. "It's not a thing. It's not a debilitating injury. It's a pain injury that you can play with and deal with."

Philadelphia Eagles: ESPN.com has learned that contract extension negotiations between the Eagles and fourth-year wide receiver Todd Pinkston have accelerated in recent days and that the two sides have bridged many of their differences.

While a deal is not yet imminent, both sides seem motivated, and Pinkston would prefer to complete an extension before the beginning of the regular season, if possible. The former second-round choice (2000) has improved every season in the league and has become a solid target for quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Pinkston, 26, has this season and 2004 remaining on his original contract. But he can void the final year of the deal if he reaches predetermined performance levels in 2003. In '02, he had his best season to date, with 60 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns.

-- Len Pasquarelli

Indianapolis Colts: After six seasons as a starter, Indianapolis Colts right offensive tackle Adam Meadows has lost his job to former guard Ryan Diem, and acknowledged that his future with the club is now somewhat uncertain.

Meadows, 29, had been a starter since his 1997 rookie season. Every appearance he has made in his career has been as a starter, 91 of them, and he never started fewer than 14 games in any campaign. Meadows and Diem had split time with the first unit over the opening two weeks of camp, and Meadows started the first preseason contest, but then was informed on the switch in a Monday meeting with line coach Howard Mudd.

"I'd be lying if I said this wasn't tough to take," Meadows allowed. "It's not an easy thing to handle, but I can deal with it. . . . (But) it doesn't take a genius to put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out what might happen."

The Colts announced during the spring that Diem, a two-year starter at right guard, was moving outside to tackle and would compete with Meadows for the top spot on the depth chart. With his demotion, Meadows becomes "swing" player, the top backup to Diem and to left tackle Tarik Glenn.

It could be difficult for the Colts to release or trade Meadows this year because of the cap ramifications. But he has a cap charge of about $8 million in 2004 and that certainly will be a factor in his future with the team.

Diem started 23 games at guard in his first two seasons but always felt he was a natural tackle and is pleased by the move. "It feels like I'm back home," he said.

-- Len Pasquarelli

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers have traded first-year wide receiver Nate Jackson to the Denver Broncos for a conditional seventh-round choice in the 2004 draft. The 49ers will only get the choice if Jackson is on Denver's regular-season 53-man roster.

Jackson, 24, was originally signed by San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in 2002, was released in the preseason, then re-signed this spring. The former Menlo College star has good size, runs well enough, and is familiar with the West Coast offense that is used by the Broncos.

The 49ers felt Jackson performed well to this point in camp but, with a logjam at the wide receiver position, figured he might only be a candidate for the practice squad.

-- Len Pasquarelli