NFL Notebook: Panthers' Smith hurts his shoulder

■ Panthers: Receiver Steve Smith has an injured right shoulder after a collision at practice.

X-rays taken last night were negative. General Manager Marty Hurney had little information and was uncertain how long Smith, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, will be sidelined.

Smith crumpled to the turf and grabbed his right arm after getting tangled with cornerback Chris Gamble in the workout, held without pads. He winced, took off his helmet and kicked it before walking to a nearby tent. Smith was briefly treated before being carted inside.

Smith had 78 catches for 1,421 yards last season.

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Dolphins: Miami signed Connor Barth, a former North Carolina kicker, yesterday. Barth made the Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie free agent in 2008 and made 10 of 12 field goals, but they waived him July 28. Incumbent Dan Carpenter remains a the favorite for the kicking job.

Also yesterday, fullback Matt Quillen became the third player to quit training camp.Tackle SirVincent Rogers and safety Ethan Kilmer left camp earlier.

■ Bucs: Receiver Antonio Bryant has a torn meniscus in his left knee that will sideline him for the remainder of training camp. Bryant will undergo arthroscopic surgery.

Coach Raheem Morris said yesterday he expects Bryant to be ready to play in the regular-season opener against Dallas on Sept. 13. Bryant revived his career last season after being out of football in 2007, finishing with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns.

■ Rams: St. Louis will be without No. 1 receiver Donnie Avery for four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his left foot. He was injured in a scrimmage Friday.

Avery, who became the Rams' top receiver when Torry Holt left in free agency, had 53 catches for 674 yards as a rookie last season. Also in competition for starting jobs at receiver are Ronald Curry and rookie Brooks Foster, both of whom played at North Carolina.

■ Falcons: Roddy White was back at practice for Atlanta, taking part in a two-hour workout after ending an eight-day holdout. White held out while demanding a new contract and over the weekend agreed to a six-year, $50-million deal that includes $18.6 million in guaranteed money.

■ Lions: Defensive end Jared left practice on a cart yesterday with a ruptured Achilles tendon that will require season-ending surgery. He started 29 games the past three seasons for the Lions and has played in 120 games for them since they drafted him out of Iowa in 1999.

The Lions signed veteran defensive lineman Shaun Smith to a $1 million, one-year deal soon after Devries was injured. Smith started 19 games in two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, who suddenly cut him Saturday.

■ Bengals: Cincinnati cut running back Kenny Watson, an eight-year veteran who played in 10 games last season but say out the final four with a hamstring injury.

Watson signed as a free agent with the Redskins in 2001 and then signed with the Bengals in 2003. He played in all 16 games for the Bengals in 2007, gaining 763 yards rushing and scoring seven touchdowns.

■ Cardinals: Running back Beanie Wells missed another workout with a sprained right ankle yesterday, raising doubts that he'll play in Arizona's preseason opener Thursday at Pittsburgh. Wells, a first-round pick out of Ohio State, ran and did agility drills during a morning practice yesterday and said that the ankle is improving. He was injured in his first practice Aug. 1, shortly after agreeing to a five-year, $11.8-million contract.

■ Eagles: Philadelphia's injury-filled training camp continued yesterday, with backup quarterback Kevin Kolb (sprained ligament, left knee) and defensive end Trent Cole (sprained left shoulder) going down during a morning practice session. Both will miss Thursday's preseason opener against New England and are listed as day to day.

The Eagles already have lost starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley and rookie tight end Cornelius Ingram to season-ending ACL injuries.

■ Saints: Medical examiner Cindy Eller said that Mina Brees, the mother of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, died Friday in Grand County in western Colorado. Eller declined to identify the town or release any other information. She said the cause of death is still under investigation.

Drew Brees was practicing with the Saints yesterday after missing a scrimmage Saturday to gather with family.

"It was a long weekend. It was a tough weekend," Brees said after practice yesterday. "I appreciate everybody giving their condolences and everything, but ... I'd rather deal with it, move on, and I'm trying to," he said.

Relations between Brees and his mother were strained at times, with Drew Brees asking his mother to stop using his picture in TV commercials touting her candidacy for a Texas appeals court in 2006. At the time, Brees called his relationship with his mother "nonexistent," saying that it crumbled six years earlier when he refused to hire her as his agent.