Wide receiver Keyshawn Johson was absent Wednesday as the Carolina Panthers began a series of voluntary workouts. Coach John Fox said Johnson was attending to personal matters and is expected to join the team Friday.

The Tennessee Titans must allow Steve McNair to work out on their property as long as he has a contract with the team, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday. Arbitrator John Feerick heard more than seven hours of testimony May 16 on charges that the Titans breached McNair's contract by barring him from working out at the team's headquarters. The union filed the grievance, arguing he should be allowed to work out on the property or be released. General Counsel Richard Berthelsen called it a victory for the NFL Players Association and McNair, but he said it was unfortunate they had to go through this process. "We've said since the beginning that this was a clear violation of his contract with the club," Berthelsen said.

The 49ers will consider making a bid for former Virginia linebacker Ahmad Brooks in the July 13 supplemental draft, personnel director Scot McCloughan said Tuesday. Last year at this time, Brooks was being mentioned in the same breath as A.J. Hawk -- picked fifth overall in last month's draft -- when it came to the nation's top linebackers. But the junior's status soon plummeted because of injuries and questions about his maturity.

As expected, New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet is calling it quits. The team has scheduled a news conference for Friday, when Chrebet will officially announce his retirement. A series of concussions over the years forced Chrebet to end his 11-year career - all with the Jets.

Chad Pennington passed an important test yesterday on his long, improbable road back from a second operation on his throwing shoulder. Two days shy of 34 weeks after the operation, Pennington participated in team drills for the first time. At the 34-week mark after the first operation on his right shoulder in February 2005, Pennington already had played three regular-season games and was out for the year with another injury. Pennington participated in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, taking snaps in live competition for the first time since his right shoulder was repaired for the second time in eight months on Oct. 6. It is not known how Pennington fared in the workouts; reporters are not permitted to watch any portion of the voluntary passing camp at Hofstra this week. "I was pleased with the turnout for our organized team activity and excited about the group's energy level and focus both in the .classroom and on the field," coach Eric Mangini said in a statement. "Our entire team participated."

The NFL has proposed playing two regular-season games outside the United States starting in 2008, league officials said. Mark Waller, head of NFL international development, said the proposal to play abroad was put to team owners in Denver. It came after the 49ers and Cardinals played last October before a regular-season record crowd of 103,000 in Mexico City. The owners will discuss the issue again in October. The games would be played in Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, where five of the six NFL Europe teams play.

Rick Mueller, the New Orleans Saints director of player personnel, interviewed with the Houston Texans on Tuesday for their general manager opening. Mueller is the third candidate to interview for the job vacated by Charley Casserly, who resigned to pursue a job with the NFL. Mueller follows Denver assistant general manager Rick Smith and Green Bay director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was arrested for disorderly conduct at a hotel in South Beach, police said. Holmes was arrested the night of May 26. He was released from jail after he signed a promissory note to appear in court to be arraigned, Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said. The events leading to Holmes' arrest weren't released by police.

The Minnesota Vikings hired Rick Spielman as vice president for player personnel Tuesday. Spielman left Miami in June 2005 after five seasons with the club, including one as general manager. Before that, he was with Detroit from 1990-96 and Chicago from 1997-99. Spielman left the Dolphins as he became increasingly irrelevant with new coach Nick Saban having complete control over the roster. As GM, Spielman was widely criticized throughout the 2004 season for personnel decisions. Miami went 4-12 that season, one of the worst records in franchise history. Spielman replaces Fran Foley, who was fired after three months on the job following a controversy about inaccuracies on his resume and a draft that got mixed reviews.

Many years ago, Joe Theismann was once a Toronto Argonaut, but now he says he is embarrassed because Ricky Williams is now an Argonaut. Theismann made this comments in an interview with ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd, and went on to say that he didn't want to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Williams in anything football related.