NFL notebook: 49ers CB Sherman has possible hamstring injury

Cornerback Richard Sherman, the San Francisco 49ers' prize free-agent signing this offseason, fell hard during practice at training camp on Friday and left the field. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said after practice that Sherman "went down hard" and that he was pulled from the field as a precaution when it appeared his hamstring tightened up. Sherman reportedly left the field under his own power. The 30-year-old Sherman, who was a four-time Pro Bowl selection with Seattle after the Seahawks chose him in the fifth round (No. 154 overall) out of Stanford in 2011, is coming off surgery on both Achilles tendons. Sherman was not cleared to practice until right before training camp and the 49ers have said they will give him occasional days off as a precaution. The 49ers have a scheduled day off on Saturday. Sherman is expected to receive treatment and hopefully be back on the field soon, but hamstrings can be tricky and expect Shanahan to be cautious with him. --Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson made his NFL debut and predictably struggled Thursday night at the Hall of Fame Game in Canton Ohio. Jackson, the second of Baltimore's first-round picks (No. 32 overall) in this year's NFL Draft, played much of the second half in the Ravens' 17-16 win over the Chicago Bears. The former Heisman Trophy winner from Louisville completed 4 of 10 passes for 33 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed eight times for 25 yards. "I thought it was pretty good," Jackson said of his performance, per the NFL Network. "I scored a touchdown. It's hard to score in the NFL." The highlight for Jackson was an 8-yard scoring strike to rookie tight end Hayden Hurst, Baltimore's other first-round selection (No. 25 overall) in this year's draft. He also showed elusiveness and pocket awareness on a 10-yard scramble. However, Jackson also had a pass intercepted by Doran Grant on a deep throw, went three-and-out on two possessions and was sacked three times. "Everybody kind of has these expectations that they're going to see fireworks," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson's first NFL action. "I think that he played well. The first task we gave him was to operate the offense, and he did. He got the plays called, he got people lined up, he got snap counts off -- and, you know, that stuff gets taken for granted. "He's a rookie quarterback out there for the first time handling the whole offense. I thought he did a very good job, and that's what I asked him to do today. ... I thought he handled himself well." Former No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III, who is vying with Jackson for the backup job behind starter Joe Flacco, acquitted himself well by completing 7 of 11 passes for 58 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Like Flacco, Bears starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was a spectator. Backup quarterback Chase Daniel was 8 of 16 for 53 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. Tyler Bray led a belated fourth-quarter comeback and finished 18 of 34 for 181 yards and a scoring pass. --New York Giants rookie cornerback Sam Beal will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder, the NFL Network reported. Beal, who was taken by the Giants in the third round of the 2018 supplemental draft, was injured during practice on July 24 when he got tangled up with a teammate. New York surrendered a third-round pick in 2019 to select Beal, who was the highest-drafted player in the supplemental draft since wide receiver Josh Gordon was taken in the second round in 2012. Beal was projected as an early pick in the 2019 draft before being declared academically ineligible at Western Michigan and leaving school. With Beal reportedly out for the season, the Giants are expected to lean heavily on cornerbacks Eli Apple and Janoris Jenkins. In a reflection of Beal's talent, representatives from all 32 teams attended his personal Pro Day workout on June 28. The 6-foot, 178-pounder showed off NFL-caliber athleticism, registering a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash, a vertical jump of 37 inches along with a broad jump of 10-6. He clocked a 4.09 in the short shuttle and 7.11 in the three-cone drill. Beal started 23 of 25 games for the Broncos the last two seasons for a program that has quietly churned out seven NFL draft picks the last three years. --Free-agent wide receiver Eric Decker signed with the New England Patriots, the team announced. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The 31-year-old Decker has played eight seasons in the NFL since the Denver Broncos selected him in the third round (87th overall) in the 2010 NFL draft. Decker played with the Broncos from 2010 to 2013, the New York Jets from 2014 to 2016 and the Tennessee Titans last season. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Decker played 16 games with the Titans last season (starting eight) and had 54 receptions for 563 yards and one touchdown. He played in two postseason games and caught eight passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. During his eight NFL seasons, Decker has 439 receptions for 5,816 yards and 53 touchdowns in 111 games (83 starts). He has had three seasons with more than 1,000 yards receiving, gaining 1,064 yards in 2012, 1,288 in 2013 and 1,027 in 2015. --Green Bay Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga passed a physical Friday and was cleared to return to practice. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Bulaga will be activated from the physically unable to perform list and practice on a limited basis, multiple media outlets reported. Green Bay placed Bulaga on the PUP list on July 26, even though McCarthy said the 29-year-old looked "great" and had no doubt he would return to the field soon. Bulaga tore an ACL on Nov. 6 against the Detroit Lions and didn't take part in the team's offseason program. He sustained the same injury to his left knee early in the 2013 training camp and missed that entire season. The 6-foot-5, 314-pound Bulaga has spent his entire career with the Packers since the team selected him in the first round (No. 23 overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. Bulaga has started 81 of 85 games during his tenure with Green Bay, including all 16 in 2016. --Joe Buck will remain the lead announcer for FOX Sports, receiving a three-year contract extension, the New York Post reported. Buck will be the network's lead voice on the NFL and golf, and will remain its top play-by-play man on baseball. FOX owns the rights to the World Series through 2021. The 49-year-old Buck already had two years remaining on his current contract and told the Post he wanted to remain with the network. "There wasn't a lot of posturing," Buck said. "I don't want to go anywhere. They know I don't want to go anywhere. And they want to use me and have me do these events. Let's just figure out what seems fair to both sides." Starting this year, Buck and Troy Aikman will call the new "Thursday Night Football" package on FOX. They also represent the network's top afternoon pairing for Sunday's games. FOX paid $3.3 billion to have the Thursday night games for five years. --The Indianapolis Colts restored guard Jeremy Vujnovich to the active roster from the physically unable to perform list, the team announced. Vujnovich, who signed a one-year contract with Indianapolis in April, is eligible to begin practicing with the team. He was the Colts' lone remaining player on the PUP list. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Vujnovich played every offensive snap at left guard for Indianapolis in 2017 -- joining left tackle Anthony Castonzo as the lone members with that distinction. The Colts signed guard Jack Mewhort during free agency, but he announced his retirement Wednesday at age 26. Vujnovich, 27, initially signed with the Colts as a free agent on May 12, 2016. He has played in 18 career games with the Green Bay Packers and the Colts. --Cleveland Browns guard Kevin Zeitler is expected to miss two weeks because of a calf injury. Zeitler, the team's starting right guard, was injured during Wednesday's practice and did not participate in Thursday's session. "He is going to be OK, but he is going to be down for a little while," Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters. "It is a calf. It is unfortunate, but we will get him back. We will be back and ready to go hopefully in the next couple of weeks or so. Those things do happen in training camp." Zeitler, who was signed to a five-year, $60 million contract in March 2017, started all 16 games a year ago in his first season with the Browns. A first-round pick of Cincinnati in the 2012 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Zeitler spent his first five seasons with the Bengals, starting 87 of 88 games, including all 16 in 2015 and 2016. --New York Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa is expected to miss one to two weeks because of a thumb injury, the New York Daily News reported. Enunwa sat out a second straight practice Thursday with what coach Todd Bowles said was a sore hand, but the newspaper reported that Enunwa was seen wearing a wrap on his right hand. It is the latest setback for Enunwa, who sat out the entire 2017 season after undergoing neck surgery. A sixth-round pick of the Jets in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Nebraska, Enunwa had 22 receptions while starting six of 12 games in 2015 before enjoying a breakout campaign the following year. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Enunwa established career highs with 58 receptions for 857 yards and four touchdowns in 2016. The thumb injury likely will keep Enunwa out of New York's preseason opener against Atlanta on Aug. 10. Enunwa is part of a crowded wide receiver corps that includes Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and Terrelle Pryor. --Arizona Cardinals linebacker Deone Bucannon was not at practice Friday, one day after banging a knee against a teammate's helmet. Cardinals coach Steve Wilks told reporters on Friday that Bucannon suffered a hyperextended knee and would undergo an MRI, per the team's official website. Bucannon, who is entering his fifth season with Arizona, was hurt while trying to avoid contact during Thursday's practice session. After wide receiver Brice Butler made a sliding catch on a short pass from Sam Bradford, an oncoming Bucannon attempted to leap over Butler. Instead, his knee slammed into Butler's helmet. Bucannon was able to walk off the field after he was down for a moment, and defensive coordinator Al Holcomb was not concerned that the injury is serious. "He's fine. He's a tough player and I'm not worried about him," Holcomb told the Arizona Republic. "He's fine." A first-round draft pick (No. 27 overall) of the Cardinals in 2014, Bucannon spent most of his first two seasons at safety before he was shifted to linebacker for the last two seasons. Bucannon has missed seven games during the last two seasons because of ankle injuries. He appeared in 12 games in 2017, registering 82 tackles, two forced fumbles and one sack. --Houston Texans rookie wide receiver Keke Coutee suffered a strained hamstring during Friday's practice, the Houston Chronicle reported. Texans coach Bill O'Brien didn't offer a definitive timetable for Coutee's absence, other than to all but rule him out of the preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 9. "He's dealing with, I wouldn't say a serious injury, but he's got to take some time to get back from it," O'Brien said. "He'll be back eventually. Probably won't be back for Kansas City, but hopefully after that." A fourth-round pick from Texas Tech, Coutee has been impressive during training camp and was vying for the starting flanker position with Braxton Miller. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Coutee had a superb junior season at Texas Tech in 2017, amassing 93 receptions for 1,429 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games. Coutee appeared in 12 games as a sophomore, making 55 catches for 890 yards and seven touchdowns. --Green Bay Packers running back Devante Mays exited practice on Friday because of an apparent hamstring injury, multiple media outlets reported. Mays came up limping at the end of a short touchdown run, grabbing at his right hamstring. He left the field with a team trainer. The Packers already are without running back Aaron Jones, who has missed practice all week since he suffered a hamstring injury last Saturday. A seventh-round draft pick out of Utah State in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mays saw sparse action during his rookie season with Green Bay. He appeared in eight games, rushing for 1 yard on four carries and catching three passes for zero yards. The 5-foot-10, 230-pound Mays is part of a crowded backfield that includes Jones, Jamaal Williams, Ty Montgomery, Joel Bouagnon and fullbacks Aaron Ripkowski and Joe Kerridge. --The Jacksonville Jaguars signed defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, the team announced. Siliga will join his fifth team since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Utah in 2011. He appeared in eight games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, registering eight tackles. The 6-foot-2, 345-pound Siliga spent three of his six seasons with the New England Patriots, appearing in 25 games and making 13 starts. He had a career-best 44 tackles in 2014 in helping the Patriots win the Super Bowl. In 44 games with the Denver Broncos, Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Buccaneers, Siliga has posted 114 tackles and 6.5 sacks. In a corresponding move, Jacksonville waived defensive tackle Kaleb Eulls with an injury designation. --The Denver Broncos signed wide receiver Bryce Bobo and in a corresponding move waived wide receiver Kenny Bell with an injury designation, the team announced. Bobo played at Colorado and was not selected in the NFL Draft in April. He had a tryout at the Seattle Seahawks' rookie camp but was not signed. Last season, Bobo had 62 receptions for 693 yards and five touchdowns for the Buffaloes. Bell, who was a fifth-round pick out of Nebraska by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015, missed time during the spring and summer because of a hamstring injury. He has never played in a regular season NFL game, spending 2015 with the Buccaneers and 2016-17 with the Baltimore Ravens before joining the Broncos this year.