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The San Diego Chargers decided they felt more comfortable with three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, so they agreed to terms with veteran J.T. O’Sullivan.



O’Sullivan was cut by Cincinnati during the weekend. He will play behind starter Philip Rivers and backup Billy Volek, who was held out of practice Monday.



O’Sullivan replaces Charlie Whitehurst as San Diego’s No. 3 quarterback. Whitehurst was traded to Seattle in the offseason. The team cut rookie Jonathan Crompton and he was put on the practice squad.



The Chargers chose O’Sullivan over Crompton because of experience. O’Sullivan, 31, has been in the league since 2002 and he has thrown 145 career passes. This is O’Sullivan’s ninth NFL team.

Dez Bryant was headed into the lunch room Monday when Jon Kitna called him over to a corner where several veterans were doing conditioning work. The rookie dutifully joined them, taking his turn in line.

New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum discusses how the club and cornerback Darrelle Revis reached agreement on a four-year contract extension that makes both sides happy.

In case you actually bought into Mike Shanahan saying he wasn’t sure about Donovan McNabb‘s status for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, the quarterback was taking snaps with the starters in Monday’s practice. McNabb moved around on his injured ankle with no problem, according to eyewitnesses at Redskins Park.



The Post is reporting that Albert Haynesworth didn’t work with the starters during the portion of practice open to the media. But beat man Rick Maese tweeted earlier this afternoon that Shanahan and Haynesworth appeared to be walking off the field together following practice.



At this time, we have no confirmation on a rumor that Shanahan might have grinned during this exchange. Stay tuned for updates throughout the evening. And if you’re not following the Beast on Twitter, you’re doing it wrong.

Just when it looked like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had made it through a preseason without anything crazy (like firing a coordinator) happening, we’ve got some developments out of One Buccaneer Place that are a little out of the ordinary.



It’s not quite as chaotic as the firing of offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski just before last season. But, still, the Bucs just unloaded the punter they drafted (Brent Bowden) and released receiver Reggie Brown, who they once thought enough of to make a trade for him with five years left on his contract.



To replace Bowden, the Bucs signed Chris Bryan. He’s the guy who spent four years playing in the Australian Football League before going to Green Bay this offseason. Although Bryan averaged 42 yards a punt in the preseason, the Packers let him go.



The release of Brown was a bit more surprising. Although the Bucs were carrying seven receivers and it was obvious someone had to go, I didn’t think it would be Brown. As recently as a few weeks ago, team officials were talking about him being a possible starter opposite Mike Williams. That job now could go to Arrelious Benn or Sammie Stroughter.



To fill Brown’s roster spot, the Bucs signed running back LeGarrette Blount. You might recognize the name. He’s the former Oregon running back who gained notoriety after punching an opponent and confronting fans at the end of a 2009 game against Boise State. Blount was suspended for the rest of the season. The suspension was later reduced and he played in a December game against Oregon State and in the Rose Bowl.



The Bucs have been pretty vocal about character recently, and they’ve prided themselves on having a controversy-free preseason. Well, preseason is over and, even though Blount served his suspension and made apologies, his mere presence is going to create a media stir for at least a few days.



Blount wasn’t drafted and spent this preseason with the Titans before being released.



The Bucs also announced they’ve added receiver Dezmon Briscoe, tackle Will Barker and tackle Derek Hardman to the practice squad.

Finally, something in the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ wild and unpredictable quarterback derby makes sense.



Despite some late momentum that Charlie Batch was gaining on the starting job, the Steelers made the right choice to play Dennis Dixon Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. With Ben Roethlisberger suspended and Byron Leftwich (knee) injured, Dixon is the only quarterback left who shared playing time with the first team.



Batch was Pittsburgh’s fourth-string quarterback during minicamp, training camp and the preseason. He was never in the picture until suddenly last week when Leftwich went down. But starting Batch Sunday with zero work to date with the starters would’ve been dicey.



Dixon has his own issues, mainly due to inexperience. But he also brings mobility, which could help with Pittsburgh’s shaky offensive line. Not turning over the football will be key for Dixon, or it could be a long season debut for the Steelers.



Now that it’s official Dixon has the job in Pittsburgh, he has to prove he can keep it until Roethlisberger returns.

If there’s a sure thing for the 2010 season, it’s that the Vikings QB will probably be on Minnesota’s injury report every week.

Ben Roethlisberger is no longer a Pittsburgh Steelers captain. Dennis Dixon is the new Steelers quarterback, at least for the time being.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — When the Minnesota Vikings announced their 53-man roster, and then stood pat with it over the next 48 hours, you had to figure they knew something we don’t. How else could they plan to play the New Orleans Saints‘ dynamic offense with only three healthy cornerbacks?



As you know, the nickel defense is expected to include Antoine Winfield, Lito Sheppard and Asher Allen. The chances of signing a cornerback who could help Thursday night are remote. So based on what I can tell, here are the two possibilities for emergency cornerback depth against a team that uses its share of four-receiver sets:

1. Husain Abdullah
2. Cedric Griffin

Yes, you read that list correctly. Abdullah is a reserve safety/special teams player known mostly for his ability to get through training camp while fasting in accordance with Ramadan. Griffin, meanwhile, was activated Saturday from the physically unable to perform list and is less than eight months removed from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the NFC Championship Game.



Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier called Abdullah a “possibility” and added: “There’s different combinations that we can use and we’ve been exploring all of those possibilities.” That brought me to the next question: The Vikings couldn’t possibly be considering playing Griffin after three days of practice, could they?



“You know, the fact that he’s out here practicing gives us some hope,” Frazier said. “We’re just trying to ascertain over the next couple days if it is a real possibility. So we’re going to give it another day and see how he does tomorrow. But he has already done far more than we expected when we put him on the 53.”



Frazier generally isn’t one to enter into the world of competitive subterfuge, so I walked away believing that he has an open mind on Griffin’s availability. Still, it would be a tremendous upset for Griffin to be back on the field Thursday night.



That brings us back to Abdullah, a third-year player who appeared in a few nickel snaps last season but otherwise has been a safety throughout his career. There is no scouting report on him as a cornerback. So at this point, we have no choice but to continue assuming the Vikings know something we don’t.