Bills WR Owens day to day with sprained toe

[August 12, 2009]  PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens missed practice Tuesday and is day to day because of a sprained toe.

Bills coach Dick Jauron said it was too early to determine whether Owens would play in Buffalo's preseason home opener against Chicago on Saturday.

Owens was not present for the Bills' morning walkthrough session or their night practice during the team's first day back at training camp since a 21-18 loss to Tennessee in the Hall of Fame game on Sunday.

With 10 minutes left in the night practice, Owens was spotted leaving a side door of the training facility.

Wearing running shoes and shorts, and with a red cap pulled on backward on his head, Owens walked with a slight limp while making his way up the stairs to the players' dormitories.

Owens jammed his toe during the game Sunday. It's not clear when or how the injury happened, but Owens was on the field for the entire series, the only one featuring the Bills starters.

He finished with two catches for 27 yards.

Shortly after the game, Owens complained about an aching toe in a comment posted on his Twitter.com site. Tweeting that he was on the team bus to the airport, Owens wrote, "Damn my toe is aching!" followed by a symbol of a concerned face -- ":-/."

Jauron noted that there was a different -- quieter atmosphere -- at practice without Owens, who had consistently drawn the loudest cheers during the first two weeks of camp.

"Yeah, it was different," Jauron said. "We know what kind of player he is and what kind of player he's been his entire career, so when he's not on the field, you're aware of the fact."

Entering his 14th NFL season, Owens signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with Buffalo in March, days after being released by the Dallas Cowboys. The Bills are counting on Owens to spark what's been an anemic passing attack, and serve as a complement opposite starting receiver Lee Evans.

Over his past three seasons, Owens has 38 touchdown catches, seven fewer than the entire Bills team combined.

In other news, Jauron said rookie linebacker Ashlee Palmer will miss at least a week after spraining his ankle on Sunday. Starting right tackle Brad Butler returned to practice after missing last week's workouts due to a sore back.

The Bills made several roster moves Tuesday.

Buffalo re-signed defensive back Antwain Spann, days after the team had released him. Spann played in 19 games over three seasons with New England.

The Bills also signed offensive lineman Christian Gaddis, who split last season on Cleveland's and Indianapolis' practice squads. Gaddis is returning to the Bills, who initially signed him as an unrestricted free agent in 2007.

The Bills placed defensive end Jermaine McGhee and center Marvin Philip on the waived/injured list.

[Associated Press; By JOHN WAWROW]

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