Merriman will not appeal suspension

The San Diego Chargers must play their next four games without outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, one of the NFL’s top young players who decided Tuesday not to appeal his suspension for testing positive for steroids.

Merriman’s suspension is another blow to one of the NFL’s toughest defenses, which has been hit by injuries and off-field trouble since before the season started. Merriman will sit out games at home against Cleveland, at Cincinnati, at Denver and at home against Oakland.

Merriman, tied for the NFL lead with 8 1/2 sacks, and his attorney have blamed a tainted supplement for the player’s positive test for the steroid nandrolone. Merriman couldn’t be reached for comment.

The suspension won’t officially begin until after Merriman addresses his teammates today. After that, he’ll be barred from the team’s headquarters until he’s eligible to return Nov. 27.

“He’s upset because he let his team down, but we’re OK,” outside linebacker Shaun Phillips said. “We’re behind him 100%. We know he’s not that kind of guy, that he wouldn’t do anything to boost his performance.

“We’re a good team. We’ll get over it.”

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees told his mother to cut it out: He wants her to stop using his picture in TV commercials touting her candidacy for a Texas appeals court.

In commercials running on stations in Austin, Texas, Mina Brees had been using a picture of her son in the uniform of his former team, the San Diego Chargers, to emphasize her ties to football.

“I think the major point here is that my mother is using me in a campaign, and I’ve made it known many times I don’t want to be involved,” Drew Brees said.

Mina Brees, an Austin attorney, is running as a Democrat for a spot on Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals.

Brees called his relationship with his mother “nonexistent” after it crumbled six years ago when he refused to hire her as his agent.

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The New York Jets insisted Curtis Martin has not yet decided to end his season, despite a report that the NFL’s No. 4 career rusher has told members of the team he won’t return this year.

“There has been no decision,” Coach Eric Mangini said when addressing a report in the Newark Star-Ledger.

The newspaper, quoting anonymous teammates and a team official, reported that Martin has already said he won’t be able to play this season because of a bone-on-bone condition in his right knee that has sidelined him since late last year. The report also said Martin is close to retiring.

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Minnesota middle linebacker Napoleon Harris dislocated his wrist and defensive tackle Kevin Williams played most of Monday night’s 31-7 loss to New England with a high ankle sprain, Vikings Coach Brad Childress said.

Center Matt Birk had a hyperextended knee and defensive tackle Pat Williams had some “moderate swelling” in his knee.

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The New York Giants waived offensive tackle Na’Shan Goddard to make room on the roster for former USC linebacker Chris Claiborne, who was signed a day earlier.