Giants Lose Hampton for 2-3 Weeks

Rodney Hampton, the leading career rusher for the New York Giants and a fixture in their backfield the past seven years, underwent surgery on his right knee Monday and will be sidelined two to three weeks.

The best scenario for new Coach Jim Fassel is that Hampton, who had loose bone and cartilage removed, will miss the regular-season opener against Philadelphia on Aug. 31 and he would be able to play in the second game at Jacksonville on Sept. 7.

Rookie Tiki Barber or the oft-injured Tyrone Wheatley, who has failed to live up to the expectations the Giants had in taking him in the first round of the 1995 draft, will replace Hampton in the starting lineup.

Hampton had to sit out Saturday night’s exhibition game against the New York Jets after his knee locked up only minutes before game time.

“I think he’s had it for a little while,” Fassel said after Monday’s practice at Giants Stadium. “Everybody does. Sometimes your knee locks and usually you are all right. They did everything they could [on Saturday] and it was no good, so we decided to go ahead.”

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Picking a starting quarterback is no longer the major concern for Chicago Bear Coach Dave Wannstedt. Now, he’s got to worry about who Rick Mirer or Erik Kramer will throw to without Curtis Conway.

Conway, who last year became the first receiver in Bear history to record consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, is sidelined for six to eight weeks because of a broken left collarbone.

“We had been planning on keeping five receivers and this may force us to keep six,” Wannstedt said. “We could move somebody in or bump somebody up.”

Bobby Engram will become the team’s primary receiver and the Bears have veteran Ricky Proehl--who sprained an ankle Sunday--and rookie Marcus Robinson, a fourth-round pick from South Carolina, who caught a touchdown pass Sunday.

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Dallas Cowboy safety Roger Harper was released in part for an undisclosed violation of owner Jerry Jones’ new behavior policy, according to published reports.

The Dallas Morning News reported that a source said Harper was the second person to be cut by the team in the past two months for such off-the-field violations of Jones’ rules.

“Decisions we make are going to reflect our effort to have people that make good and smart decisions off the field,” Jones told the newspaper.

Sources said earlier that backup tight end Kendall Watkins was released in July after he visited the Cowboys Sports Cafe, an establishment near the team’s Valley Ranch training facility that Jones had declared off-limits to players.

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Danny Wuerffel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who many scouts felt could not make it in the NFL, has moved up to the backup role with the New Orleans Saints.

“We just felt that the way he handled the offense that he has a pretty good grasp on things,” Coach Mike Ditka said after Wuerffel went eight of 13 for 64 yards and led the Saints to two touchdowns in Saturday’s exhibition against the Oakland Raiders.