Greene back
Joins Titans’ RB battle with McCluster and Sankey
Shonn Greene has done enough sitting and watching the past few months.
Now the Tennessee Titans running back is back on the field and couldn’t be happier at how much better his right knee feels.
Greene took the first snaps Saturday in team drills at the Titans’ initial training camp practice, his first work since having arthroscopic surgery in May on the same knee that cost him five games last season. He said he felt a little rusty.
“This being my first day back I was kind of hesitant with it, but it held up for the most part and felt pretty good,” Greene said.
The Titans need the veteran to show why they gave him a three-year contract in March 2013.
Chris Johnson was cut in April and now is with the New York Jets, Greene’s old team. Greene must show he can stay healthy in Tennessee as the Titans look for someone to step up in a crowded backfield in training camp.
The Titans signed Dexter McCluster as a free agent in March and drafted Bishop Sankey out of Washington in the second round in May.
They also have Leon Washington, who’s mostly a kick returner, Jackie Battle and undrafted rookie Antonio Andrews among the eight backs in camp.
Vikings extend Rudolph
The Minnesota Vikings have signed tight end Kyle Rudolph to a five-year contract extension.
The Vikings announced the deal Sunday night. The deal, which was first reported by Fox Sports, is worth $36.5 million with just $20 million guaranteed. Incentives can push the deal to $40 million.
Rudolph missed eight games because of a broken left foot last season. He caught 30 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns last year, but was still named to the Pro Bowl and earned MVP honors in the game.
Rudolph was entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Vikings know what he can do when he is healthy. In 2012, he caught nine touchdown passes and provided the team with a big, speedy threat over the middle.
49ers’ James hurt
Another injury has struck the 49ers’ running back corps, as LaMichael James got carted off the field with an apparently dislocated left elbow early in Sunday’s practice.
James could be out a month because of the dislocation, according to the NFL Network.
James had just become a top contender for the No. 2 running back role Friday, once Kendall Hunter sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
It’s believed James got hurt in a pass-blocking drill. Coach Jim Harbaugh hovered over James on the ground before a trainer whisked him off to the locker room. James appeared to be supporting his left wrist with his right hand.
Injuries have struck James leading up to his two previous seasons. He sprained his left knee in last season’s exhibition finale at San Diego, and an ankle injury required him to get carted off the field in a 2012 exhibition at Houston.