Tatum Bell spoke to the Detroit media on Monday and expressed his interest in a trade if he's going to lose his starting job to Kevin Jones this week.

The Lions have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to determine if they have any interest in trading him. Obviously, the Tampa Bay Bucs would be interested in Bell, or Mewelde Moore of the Vikings. Bell is in the final year of his contract and knows he needs carries to attract more interest in the free-agent market.

Bell came to the Lions in a trade from Denver along with right tackle George Foster. Foster has struggled with penalties and has lost playing time to Jonathan Scott.

Lions president Matt Millen has a tough decision to make. Bell would be a good fit for the Bucs and it's not out of the question that Tampa Bay would offer a good draft choice -- possibly a fifth-rounder. The problem is the Bucs play the Lions this weekend, so it would be hard for Millen to give the Bucs a running back who could come back and beat him.

Last season, former Lions quarterback Joey Harrington came back to Detroit and won as a member of the Dolphins. It's likely Millen might pass on giving Bell to the Bucs, but Tuesday should be interesting.

The lowdown on Henry: The best way to read the Travis Henry federal court battle and possible one-year drug suspension is that delays in the federal case should allow him to play until at least mid-November. If Henry loses the federal case, he can buy a few more weeks on the field by appealing the one-year suspension. He's claiming the positive test for marijuana was caused by second-hand smoke.

Cutting ties: The Broncos released linebacker D.D. Lewis Monday even though he seemed to be a perfect fit for Denver. Lewis signed with the Broncos to be a top special-teams player and a backup linebacker. Lewis has speed and can help coming off the bench. But with so many injuries on offense, Mike Shanahan didn't have the roster space to keep Lewis.

Warner wants to avoid surgery: Kurt Warner believes he can come back after a couple weeks despite having torn ligaments in his left elbow. Because it isn't his throwing elbow, Warner thinks he can get a brace and not have to get surgery. Obviously, he's going to need a week or two to strengthen the left arm to make sure he doesn't have problems taking snaps from center. Because it's not on his throwing arm, he can probably get away without getting Tommy John surgery like Jake Delhomme.

Only a matter of time? DeAngelo Williams' 121-yard rushing effort on 10 carries in Week 6 might not make him Carolina's starting halfback yet, but it gets the process in motion. DeShaun Foster has run well this year, but he still has problems with fumbles, something head coach John Fox won't tolerate. Plus, Williams adds explosiveness to the running game that the Panthers need considering their injuries at quarterback. There won't be a quarterback controversy in Carolina because David Carr will get the starting job once his back is healthy, but the running back battle might be the most interesting.

Beck's chance coming: The 0-6 Dolphins aren't going to rush rookie QB John Beck into the starting lineup, but it's pretty evident he will get a chance to finish the season as the starter. That chance will probably come in November.

Nightmare season: Levi Brown's struggles with the Bengals continue. Early in the season, he missed playing time because of a knee injury. In Week 6, Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen beat him for three sacks, leading to his benching. Brown is one of the better left tackles in the AFC, but he's having his worst year. Marvin Lewis has to find a way to get him out of his funk or keep him on the bench until his knee is right.