Brunell Sits Out With Calf Injury

Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell headed for the team bus after the first of yesterday's two practices wearing a protective sleeve on the lower half of his left leg and sporting a noticeable limp, the result of being kicked in the calf during practice by a defensive back during a drill. He returned to the afternoon practice but watched from the sideline, holding a clipboard and wearing a baseball cap instead of a helmet.

Brunell first played down missing his first practice of training camp by calling it nothing more than a scheduled day of rest. "I just got a little break. Sometimes it helps to be 35 years old," he said.

Moments later, he acknowledged that he had been kicked in the morning practice, a fact confirmed by Coach Joe Gibbs and Bubba Tyer, the team's director of sports medicine.

"Basically, he just got kicked in the calf. I don't think there's anything to that," Gibbs said. "He felt it was swelling up. I don't think it's anything big."

Brunell's injury, the team said, provided little more than a scare. Brunell, Tyer and Gibbs all said he would practice tonight. That practice is not open to the public.

Without Brunell, the spirit of competition between Jason Campbell and Todd Collins for the backup role heightened. Collins worked with the first and second units in both practices, while Campbell worked strictly with the third unit. Gibbs said afterward that the two remain equal competitors on a rotating basis, but the highlight of yesterday's practices was a 40-yard pass from Collins to James Thrash that caused assistant head coach-offense Joe Bugel to emphatically congratulate Collins and sent associate head coach-offense Al Saunders sprinting down the field, arms signaling a touchdown.

Lloyd Gives Hip a Breather

In the first of two practices yesterday, 10 players did not participate, most notably wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who dressed but within a short time cut his work short because of a left hip flexor injury. "I went out there with every intention of practicing, but my hip was acting up," Lloyd said. "We just slowed it down a little bit." . . .

Running back Ladell Betts did not practice in the morning session because of a sore left hamstring but performed in some individual drills in the second. Betts, who did not participate in Saturday's scrimmage against Baltimore but practiced Monday, is day-to-day.

Wide receiver Ataveus Cash and defensive back Curry Burns also missed both practices with hamstring injuries. Rookie linebacker Kevin Simon missed both practices with an abdominal strain and tight end Robert Johnson, who injured his ankle Saturday, did not practice in the morning session but participated in a handful of drills in the afternoon. Defensive linemen Nic Clemons and rookie Anthony Montgomery were still out. . . .

Tight end Calen Powell, who has not practiced in more than a week with a left quadriceps injury, may practice today, Tyer said.

Meanwhile, starting cornerback Carlos Rogers, burned for the Collins-to-Thrash touchdown, returned yesterday after missing seven practices and Saturday's scrimmage with back spasms.

Jansen, Golston Mix It Up

The morning practice featured the first blowup of camp when right tackle Jon Jansen and rookie defensive lineman Kedric Golston exchanged a few punches at the end of a play. Jansen, all of 6 feet 6 and 308 pounds, had been riled from an earlier moment in practice when he struggled in one-on-one pass-protection drills. Golston, who is listed at 6-4, 292 pounds, was a sixth-round draft pick out of Georgia.