According to a source close to the situation, the surgeon who performed the Lisfranc surgery on the left foot of running back Kevin Jones has agreed with Lions trainers that Jones should start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Dr. Richard Anderson re-examined Jones this afternoon and then discussed the situation with Lions officials. Because the Lions have a bye week in the sixth week of the season, Jones will only miss five games. Jones will be eligible to return on Oct. 21 in the home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Lions quarterback Jon Kitna felt a twinge in his back while warming up and decided not to play in Saturday night's exhibition game against the Colts. Kitna missed two days of practice during the week because of back spasms. Coach Rod Marinelli left the decision up to Kitna on whether to play against the Colts. Kitna said he felt the twinge when he threw a fade pattern. Backup J.T. O'Sullivan started and played the entire game, a 37-10 loss to the Colts. "They left it up to me," Kitna said. "It was totally my call. Then I got a little twinge. There was no reason to push it."

The clock is ticking on running back Kevin Jones and his recovery from a severe foot injury. Will the Lions return him to practice or keep him on the physically unable to perform list? "We're going to have to make a decision soon here," coach Rod Marinelli said. "It's going to be with doctors. We've got to use their medical knowledge." Jones is evaluated medically every Monday. He hopes to return for the regular-season opener Sept. 9 at Oakland. Martz has said he is optimistic Jones will be back based on the way Jones has been working out.

Eddie Drummond has become the first major casualty in the Lions' roster cuts. Drummond, a Pro Bowl return man in 2004, was released Thursday. There was no comment from coach Rod Marinelli. The Lions had offered Drummond on the trade market but found no takers. Drummond made the Lions in 2002 as an undrafted free agent from Penn State. He found a home on special teams, returning punts and kickoffs and on the coverage units.

Quarterback Jon Kitna was held out of Wednesday's practice because of tightness in his lower back. He watched from the sideline in a T-shirt and shorts. Dan Orlovsky, who is competing for the backup job with J.T. O'Sullivan, is also doubtful for the Colts game this Saturday. He was wearing a protective boot on his left foot Tuesday for a turf toe injury suffered Saturday.

The woman who accused Shaun Rogers of sexual assault in June has filed a civil suit against the Lions defensive tackle, asking for "whatever amount she is found to be entitled." The suit makes the same allegations the woman made to police -- that Rogers entered her dressing room at a Detroit strip club June 8 and forcibly groped her. But the suit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court, also alleges a person claiming to be Rogers threatened her life if she pursued a complaint.

The Detroit Lions took Shaun Rogers off the physically unable-to-perform list Monday, making one of their best players eligible to practice for the first time this year. Rogers was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2005, when the defensive tackle recorded a career-high 5 1/2 sacks. But he enters the season with questions about his play and weight. "Knowing Big Boy, he likes it better that way," Detroit defensive tackle Cory Redding said last week. "He likes it better when he's fighting up stream. He don't like going with the flow. "I have no doubt in my mind he will be ready."

Roy Williams is a supporter of Joey Harrington and believes he will be successful in Atlanta. "I hope for the best for him in Atlanta," Williams said. "I know what kind of quarterback he can be with the right coaching. He can be one of the best in the league in my opinion."

Unable to find an NFL team willing to take a chance on him, former first-round wide receiver Charles Rogers is likely to sign soon with a CFL team in an effort to resurrect his once promising football career. The second player selected overall in the 2003 draft, Rogers was released last year by the Lions after three seasons marked by injuries, inconsistency and a suspension for a repeat violation of the league's substance abuse policy. He worked out for a few franchises last season but was not offered a contract. Agent Jason Fletcher said that three CFL teams have demonstrated interest in his client and that, with no viable NFL opportunities right now, Rogers will likely sign a contract soon that will get him back onto the field.

Joey Harrington told cbs.sportsline.com that he received death threats while in Detroit and that games got so bad, he had to take his family out of the stands because fans wanted to fight his mother. "I've gone through very extreme cycles," the former Lions quarterback told the Web site. "There was a year or two where I would have to wear a baseball cap to make it to my flight on time. And then on the other end, I'd have to wear one because I was scared to go to the grocery store without a baseball cap because I didn't want somebody to accost me outside the citrus aisle. "I got that very, very rarely to my face. I got a lot of people who would leave notes. I got a couple of death threats on my voicemail. It got to the point where I had to take my family out of the stands because people were trying to start fights with my mom."