The Jaguars should find out by either Friday or early next week whether Stroud's postive test for steroids or related substances is confirmed. Del Rio talked about the defensive tackle rotation of the team, in which no defensive tackle had more than 40 snaps in Sunday's win over the Bucs. If Grady Jackson can fill in as part of a three-man rotation, the Jaguars can get by.

The bigger worry is on offense, with the team trying to finish out the final two games of a three-game road trip with Quinn Gray as the starting quarterback.

Stroud hasn't played as well as in past years because he's coming off microfracture surgery on an ankle. Neverthless, anytime a team loses a leader it hurts, and if the Jaguars don't want to just survive but make the playoffs, they need Stroud.

Steelers make choice: The Steelers chose to add cornerback Anthony Madison and release former second-round pick Ricardo Colcough because they felt Madison would be a better fit on special teams and be able to do more than Colcough, who was more of a fourth cornerback. The Steelers knew Colcough was more talented than a lot of team's fourth cornerbacks and would get claimed. The Browns ended up getting him on waivers. But Colcough is in the final year of his contract and scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season. The Steelers wanted more help on special teams, which is why Madison made it.

Raiders short on wideouts: With the release of Mike Williams, the Raiders have only four wide receivers on the roster and they could be thinner. Ronald Curry, the team's most dependable wide receiver, missed a good portion of practice Wednesday with a foot injury, and there is a decent chance he will miss Sunday's game against the Texans. That leaves Jerry Porter, rookie Johnnie Lee Higgins and just signed Tim Dwight as the only three active receivers if Curry can't go. Tight end John Madsen has a wide receiver-type body so he could help out in the slot, The Raiders can't afford not to have Curry out there.

Oakland QB shuffle: Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown split snaps Wednesday and Raiders coach Lane Kiffin isn't saying who will be the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Texans. Players are also in the dark. The plays were so evenly distributed, it appears that Kiffin is trying to have a wide open competition for the job. Culpepper won last week's battle, but don't be surprised if McCown wins this one.

Backs on track? This could be a good week for running backs. Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson appears to have shaken his hamstring injury. He had a full practice Wednesday. Cleveland's Jamal Lewis, who has a foot problem, is all but off the injury report. Broncos halfback Travis Henry wasn't on the injury report even though he missed Monday night's game against the Packers.

Pain in neck: The Broncos have to be concerned about safety John Lynch not being at Wednesday's practice. He couldn't finish the Monday night game against the Packers because he had a pinched nerve in his neck. The Broncos are bad in stopping the run, but they are even worse with Lynch on the sidelines. They need him if they have any chance of stopping Larry Johnson of the Chiefs. Johnson is off to a slow start with only 506 yards on 139 carries in seven games. Lynch is getting extra checkups on the neck because it was a similar injury that put his career in question and led to his release in Tampa Bay. Lynch doesn't feel it is the same injury, but he's checking.

Carr at controls: David Carr better not have any flare-ups of his back injury or the Panthers might not have a chance against the Titans Sunday. Vinny Testaverde has a sore Achilles and rested the injury by keeping it in a boot Wednesday. He hopes to be the backup quarterback, but this is what it will be like the rest of the season for the Panthers. Carr, who has a compression fracture in his back, won't be 100 percent the rest of the season. Testaverde, who is 43 years old, is always going to be a question mark.