Jolt forces Shockey to miss Giants practice

Jeremy Shockey expects rough treatment from opponents. He isn’t looking for it from teammates, particularly in training camp.

The New York Giants tight end missed Tuesday’s practice in Albany, N.Y., with post-concussion headaches. The three-time Pro Bowler suffered the mild concussion the previous night when he took a shot from safety Will Demps.

Demps downplayed the collision, saying both players were going for the pass thrown by Eli Manning and that there was contact. Replays showed Demps’ elbow hitting Shockey’s facemask, sending the receiver hard to the ground, where he lay for about a minute.

When he got up, Shockey pointed angrily to Demps, who signed with New York in the off-season after four seasons in Baltimore.

“I was going for the ball and the outcome, you guys saw it,” Demps said. “We met at the same time. If it was one of those ones where I really wanted to hit him, I could, but why would I want to do that?”

Shockey was not available for comment. But the other Giants safety, Gibril Wilson, said Demps did not intend to hurt his teammate.

“Will made a great play and Shockey didn’t appreciate it,” Wilson said. “He did not like it at all. But it is what it is.

“He’s so intense all the time. He wants the ball all the time. He wants to make us look bad and we want to make him look bad. So he was kind of heated about that.”

Smith gets light workout

All-Pro receiver Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers did some light agility drills and caught a few passes while standing, the first time he’s been on the field since straining his left hamstring on Saturday.

The Panthers have given no timetable for his return.

Brady returns to field

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady returned to the field after missing three straight practices, but the team didn’t say why the quarterback had been absent.

Brady participated in all four practices on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of camp, before sitting out Sunday’s session and both on Monday.

Around the league

Fullback Alan Ricard signed with the Buffalo Bills, who are trying to bolster a running attack led by Willis McGahee. Ricard, a five-year veteran, appeared in only two games with Baltimore last season before being sidelined by a chronic calf injury. … Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end Tamba Hali, a native of Liberia, missed two grueling practices Monday to fly to his home state of New Jersey and take the test to become a U.S. citizen. … The San Francisco 49ers released cornerback Bruce Thornton, who started 11 games last season and had 40 tackles.