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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills rookie running back C.J. Spiller will enter the NFL as a starter.



That doesn’t mean head coach Chan Gailey is ready to ride him hard.



“We have to be very smart about how we handle him, especially early in the year,” Gailey said Wednesday at the team’s facility. “It’s incumbent upon us to make sure we don’t throw him out there and work him [too much] early in the season.”



Gailey added why being cautious with the dazzling playmaker shouldn’t be a problem for Buffalo.



“If everything goes according to plan,” Gailey said, “then that should never be an issue with the backs that we have.”



The Bills have enviable backfield depth. In fact, player for player, they would stack up well against Sunday’s opponent. The Bills will play the Miami Dolphins in Ralph Wilson Stadium.



The Bills also have Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, a pair of 1,000-yard rushers who should play Sunday after missing significant time with injuries in the preseason. Jackson and Lynch both are listed second on the depth chart, separated by a slash.



“At tailback, we got three starters,” Gailey said. “Some people have trouble finding one. We have three. They make us rank them [on a depth chart]. They make us put 1, 2, 3 down there, but it’s kind of like asking a parent ‘Now, rank your children. Which one’s the favorite?’



“They’re all going to play. They’re all starters. They’re all going to be valuable members of our football team as the year goes on as I foresee it.”



Injuries helped Spiller distance himself in the backfield competition over the summer, but seeing him break off scintillating runs it’s plausible he would have won the job had everyone been healthy.



“He’s shown in his few reps here that he’s a very good player and has a chance to be a really good player for a long time,” Gailey said. “The reason he’s starting is because he’s gotten more reps than anyone else at tailback and preseason and he’s done a good job. If he hadn’t done a good job, then we might have to rethink it. But he’s earned the spot.”

Mike Florio thinks the Redskins need to make an immediate decision about what they want to do with Albert Haynesworth to stop him from being such a big distraction. (NBC Sports)

Mike Florio says it was very evident that the Colts don’t care about the preseason because they lost every game and calls out the Cowboys as also being underwhelming. (NBC Sports)

PITTSBURGH –The Steelers’ preseason favorite to win the starting quarterback job entered the locker room Wednesday with a slight limp and a heavy brace. Still, Byron Leftwich was in good spirits after recently suffering a left medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury in the final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.

“The knee is a little sore, but it is what it is,” Leftwich said. “I’m feeling good … It’s moving better than I thought it would. I never hurt my knee before, so I didn’t know what to expect.”



Leftwich thought he was fine when he initially suffered the injury. Then Leftwich tried to get up and said his knee didn’t feel right. He’s projected to be out two to four weeks. But Leftwich didn’t provide a timetable and even playfully hinted he might be healthy enough to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.



“It’s disappointing because I may miss this one. See how I left myself a chance?” Leftwich said laughing.



This week will be Dennis Dixon‘s show against Atlanta. Leftwich and veteran Charlie Batch plan to help Dixon as much as they can from the sidelines, as the Steelers try to win games without suspended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.



After coming so close to winning the job, it’s up in the air whether Leftwich will get a chance to start this season before Roethlisberger returns. Leftwich was brought over in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be a veteran presence.



“What we do for a living, sometimes these things happen,” Leftwich said of his injury. “It happened to me, and it’s something I’ll deal with and something I’ll get better from.”

Reggie Bush declined to go into any detail Wednesday on what he knows about the status of his 2005 Heisman Trophy.

Mike Shanahan says Albert Haynesworth will be with the Washington Redskins when they open the season Sunday.

Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano said he woke up Wednesday and didn’t feel differently than he did the morning before. He didn’t have more obligations. He didn’t have to change the way he handles his team.



Business as usual was Sparano’s mantra the day after Bill Parcells stepped down as vice president of football operations to the diminished role of “consultant.” General manager Jeff Ireland has taken over football ops.



“My day didn’t get longer today,” Sparano said on a conference call with Buffalo Bills reporters in advance of Sunday’s game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. “It’s still a 16-, 17-hour day.”



The Dolphins are a one-voice organization, meaning they want only one person speaking publicly on team issues. Although the main characters in this transition are Parcells and Ireland, we likely won’t hear from either. Sparano is the spokesman.



So he was the one who had to field my question about Tuesday’s surprise announcement and whether or not it is a distraction a few days before the regular season begins.



“The timing, to me, doesn’t seem peculiar one way or the other,” Sparano said in his first comments on the change. “When I came in here as the head coach and Jeff, Bill and I were together for the first time, we knew this was part of the plan and it was eventually going to happen. So the timing really is not something that [is], honestly, an inconvenience. ”



Parcells observed Dolphins practice Wednesday from a golf cart, just as he had every other outdoor workout this summer. Sparano also said his dealing with the front office won’t change.



“It really doesn’t affect me in my day-to-day dealings right now one way or the other to be honest with you,” Sparano said. “This is something that’s probably more important to you the media right now and it affects you more than it affects me from my end. My day-to-day dealings mostly are with Jeff Ireland. He’s the guy I talked to five, six times a day.”



The move does give Sparano a higher profile. He was dismissive of my suggestion some people still probably viewed Parcells as the head coach. Whether true or not, Parcells was seen as a puppet master of sorts. A major reason Sparano didn’t take consensus coach of the year honors in 2008, when the Dolphins rebounded from 1-15 to AFC East champs, was because Parcells received the credit.

Mike Florio breaks down the Darrelle Revis holdout as he signs a 4-year deal with Jets. (NBC Sports)

Mike Florio breaks down the Darrelle Revis holdout as he signs a 4-year deal with Jets. (NBC Sports)

Roster turnover is a leading topic for discussion in Seattle following the release of T.J. Houshmandzadeh in particular.



I’ve addressed the subject in depth across the division — first May 26 and again July 30 — and it’s worth another look now that teams have reduced to 53 players for the regular season.



This time, I’m going to break down the changes by position, listing players no longer on the active roster at each main position group (with new players in parenthesis). Departures outnumber replacements because some players finished last season on injured reserve, meaning they were not part of the 53-man roster.



Some players no longer on the active roster remain with the team (they could be suspended, deemed physically unable to perform or part of the practice squad).



St. Louis Rams (34 off roster)



Defensive back: Eric Bassey, Quincy Butler, Danny Gorrer, Clinton Hart, Cordelius Parks, David Roach, Jonathan Wade (added Kevin Dockery, Jerome Murphy, Darian Stewart)



Defensive line: Victor Adeyanju, Adam Carriker, Leger Douzable, Leonard Little, LaJuan Ramsey, James Wyche (added Jermelle Cudjo, Fred Robbins, George Selvie, Eugene Sims)



Linebacker: K.C. Asiodu, Paris Lenon (added Na’il Diggs, Josh Hull)



Offensive line: Roger Allen, Alex Barron, Ryan McKee, Mark Setterstrom, Phillip Trautwein, Eric Young (added Renardo Foster, Hank Fraley, Rodger Saffold)



Quarterback: Kyle Boller, Marc Bulger, Keith Null, Mike Reilly (added Sam Bradford, A.J. Feeley, Thaddeus Lewis)



Running back: Samkon Gado, Chris Ogbonnaya (added Keith Toston)



Special teams: Ryan Neill



Tight end: Randy McMichael (added Mike Hoomanawanui, Fendi Onobun)



Wide receiver: Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, Brooks Foster, Jordan Kent, Ruvell Martin (added Mark Clayton, Dominique Curry, Mardy Gilyard)

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Seattle Seahawks (33 off roster)



Defensive back: Jamar Adams, Deon Grant, Ken Lucas, Josh Wilson (added Kam Chancellor, Kennard Cox, Nate Ness, Earl Thomas, Walter Thurmond)



Defensive line: Lawrence Jackson, Patrick Kerney, Cory Redding, Nick Reed, Darryl Tapp, Craig Terrill (added Kentwan Balmer, Raheem Brock, Chris Clemons, Dexter Davis, Junior Siavii, E.J. Wilson)



Linebacker: Leroy Hill, Lance Laury, D.D. Lewis (added Matt McCoy; note that Hill is suspended for the first regular-season game)



Offensive line: Trevor Canfield, Brandon Frye, Walter Jones, Damion McIntosh, Rob Sims, Steve Vallos, Ray Willis, Mansfield Wrotto (added Stacy Andrews, Evan Dietrich-Smith, Ben Hamilton, Russell Okung, Chester Pitts, Tyler Polumbus)



Quarterback: Mike Teel, Seneca Wallace (added Charlie Whitehurst)



Running back: Justin Griffith, Louis Rankin, Tyler Roehl, Owen Schmitt (added Quinton Ganther, Michael Robinson, Leon Washington)



Special teams: Kevin Houser, Jeff Robinson (added Clint Gresham)



Tight end: John Owens (added Chris Baker, Anthony McCoy)



Wide receiver: Nate Burleson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh (added Golden Tate, Mike Williams)

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Arizona Cardinals (24 off roster)



Defensive backs: Ralph Brown, Bryant McFadden, Antrel Rolle (added A.J. Jefferson, Trumaine McBride, Brandon McDonald, Kerry Rhodes)



Defensive line: Jason Banks (added Dan Williams)



Linebacker: Monty Beisel, Bertrand Berry, Cody Brown, Karlos Dansby, Gerald Hayes, Chike Okeafor, Pago Togafau (added Paris Lenon, Cyril Obiozor, Joey Porter, Daryl Washington; Hayes can return from the physically unable to perform list after six games)



Offensive line: Mike Gandy, Herman Johnson, Reggie Wells (added Alan Faneca, Rex Hadnot)



Quarterback: Matt Leinart, Brian St. Pierre, Kurt Warner (added Derek Anderson, Max Hall, John Skelton)



Running back: Justin Green, Dan Kreider (added Jerome Johnson)



Special teams: Neil Rackers (added Jay Feely)



Tight end: Anthony Becht (added Jim Dray)



Wide receiver: Anquan Boldin, Sean Morey, Jerheme Urban (added Andre Roberts, Stephen Williams)

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San Francisco 49ers



Defensive backs: Dre’ Bly, Walt Harris, Marcus Hudson, Mark Roman (added Phillip Adams, Tramaine Brock, William James, Taylor Mays)



Defensive line: Kentwan Balmer, Derek Walker



Linebacker: Scott McKillop, Jeff Ulbrich, Matt Wilhelm (added NaVorro Bowman, Travis LaBoy)



Offensive line: Tony Pashos, Chris Patrick, Cody Wallace (added Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati)



Quarterback: Nate Davis, Shaun Hill (added David Carr, Troy Smith)



Running back: Thomas Clayton, Glen Coffee, Brit Miller, Michael Robinson (added Anthony Dixon, Brian Westbrook)



Special teams: Shane Andrus, Ricky Schmitt



Wide receiver: Arnaz Battle, Isaac Bruce, Jason Hill, Brandon Jones (added Ted Ginn Jr., Kyle Williams, Dominique Zeigler)

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The first chart shows how many players are back — at least for now — from Week 17 rosters and injured reserve lists. Seattle has the fewest number back with 26.

The second chart shows how many players each team has shed since Week 17 last season. This counts players who were on injured reserve. Teams with lots of players on injured reserve had more players to lose.