Green Bay’s Levens Has Knee Surgery

Running back Dorsey Levens underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday and may not be ready for the Green Bay Packers’ season opener.

Coach Mike Sherman said Levens had scar tissue removed from his knee.

Tendinitis in the joint bothered Levens during the Packers’ off-season minicamps and during training camp, when he missed the first week of workouts and Green Bay’s first exhibition game.

The surgery actually produced good news for the Packers, who were worried that there was damage to Levens’ patellar tendon. Surgery revealed no damage, and Sherman said Levens won’t miss more than three or four weeks of work.

Sherman said Levens could possibly be ready for Green Bay’s Sept. 3 opener against the New York Jets, but he was prepared for Levens to miss one or two games.

The Packers also announced that receiver Corey Bradford will miss from six to eight weeks because of a broken left ankle, and that the team had acquired linebacker Nate Wayne from Denver for a conditional draft pick.

*

Erik Williams, who spent the last month deciding whether he still wanted to play football, rejoined his Dallas teammates.

Williams will be eased back into his job at right tackle, making Solomon Page the likely starter Saturday night against Denver. Williams should be ready for the Sept. 3 opener against Philadelphia.

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones excused Williams’ absence from the start and said the Pro Bowl player will not be fined, although league rules would have allowed the team to charge Williams up to $5,000 a day--a tab of nearly $150,000.

*

Center Cory Raymer, who has started 37 consecutive regular season and playoff games for Washington, will miss at least six weeks because of two damaged ligaments in his right knee suffered during practice on Monday. . . . Quarterback Vinny Testaverde returned to practice with the New York Jets, three days after he sprained the big toe on his left foot in an exhibition game at Baltimore. . . . Quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who hasn’t played since 1997, has expressed interest in joining the Cleveland Browns, who are searching for a replacement for Ty Detmer, who is out for the season after rupturing an Achilles’ tendon. . . . Unable to go full speed because of a nagging foot injury, Jacksonville safety Carnell Lake will miss at least the season opener. Lake made the Pro Bowl last season despite playing with a broken bone in his left foot.

Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski and his wife directed a friend to obtain more than 500 appetite suppressant pills--more than five times the amount that would have been prescribed on a standard diet plan, according to law enforcement documents obtained by Sports Illustrated. Romanowski was indicted last week on four felony counts accusing him of using the diet drug. . . . Tampa Bay reached an injury settlement with running back Jerry Ellison, who appeared in 64 consecutive games from 1995-98. . . . Atlanta defensive end Brady Smith pulled a groin muscle during practice. The severity of the injury has not been determined. . . . Miami receiver O.J. McDuffie underwent surgery on the big toe of his left foot to remove scar tissue. The team didn’t say when McDuffie would return. . . . The NFL Players Assn., which started taking on the fantasy football industry six years ago on the grounds it can charge a licensing fee to game operators for using statistics to run their contests, said it will collect $1 million in licensing fees for the upcoming season, enough to pay each NFL player about $500.