New York

Sam Darnold is on the road to recovery and he believes the Jets will soon be, too.

That might be tough to imagine at the moment, particularly with New York sitting at 0-3 and coming off an ugly loss in New England. But the second-year quarterback insists better days are ahead.

"We're going to go on a little run here," Darnold said Monday. "It's going to be fun, but it's going to take a lot of work."

Darnold simply wants to be able to take the field, something he hasn't done the past two games because he's recovering from a bout with mononucleosis. There remains hope he could return after the bye-week break and practice next week, and then play at Philadelphia on Oct. 6.

Coach Adam Gase said Darnold is feeling better, looking better and trending in the right direction, but added that he doesn't "want to jinx it."

Because, of course, it has been one of those seasons.

Darnold had tests Monday and the plan is to have him start cardio work later this week. He'll have additional medical tests next Monday, and those will give the quarterback and the Jets a good sense of what his immediate availability will be.

"My spleen right now isn't where it needs to be in terms of coming back full-go," he said. "It did go down a little bit and it did shrink a little bit, so I'll be able to do some light cardio and hopefully throughout this week, it gets a little bit lower."

Another positive sign for Darnold's potential return: The Jets cut backup quarterback David Fales and signed wide receiver Vyncint Smith from Houston's practice squad.

That would be a big boost to an offense that has been lackluster through three games, scoring a total of 11 points during that span with Darnold, Trevor Siemian and then Luke Falk under center. Gase called the offense's performance in the Jets' 30-14 loss Sunday "atrocious," and he didn't change his tune 24 hours later.

"We didn't coach well enough, we didn't play well enough, we didn't execute well enough," Gase said.

Steelers: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had surgery to repair his right elbow on Monday. Team spokesman Burt Lauten said Roethlisberger underwent the procedure at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles. The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in consultation with team physician Dr. Jim Bradley. The 37-year-old Roethlisberger left at halftime of a 28-26 loss to Seattle on Sept. 15 after complaining of elbow pain. The team placed him on season-ending injured reserve the following day but has not detailed the exact nature of Roethlisberger's injury. Roethlisberger will begin rehabilitation when he returns to Pittsburgh and plans to return to the field in 2020. The two-time Super Bowl winner signed a contract extension in the spring that runs through the 2021 season. The Steelers, with Mason Rudolph taking over at quarterback, dropped to 0-3 with a loss to San Francisco on Sunday.

Patriots: New England placed fullback James Develin on injured reserve with a neck injury, making him the third offensive player New England has placed on the list this season. Develin played in the Patriots' first two games, but sat out Sunday's win over the Jets. Rookie receiver N'Keal Harry (ankle) and left tackle Isaiah Wynn (foot) were previously placed on injured reserve.

Cardinals: Arizona released veteran receiver Michael Crabtree after he played just two games. The 11-year veteran was signed by the Cardinals on Aug. 21. He didn't play in the first game of the season while learning the offense and then caught four passes for 22 yards over the next two weeks against Baltimore and Carolina.

Falcons: Keanu Neal will miss the remainder of the season with a torn left Achilles tendon, taking the strong safety away from Atlanta's defense for the second straight season. Neal suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2018 opening game. He worked most of the year in rehab before suffering another crushing injury Sunday.

Colts: Coach Frank Reich says safety Malik Hooker suffered a knee injury during Sunday's 27-24 victory over Atlanta. Hooker is expected to miss four to six weeks with a torn meniscus.

Panthers: Kyle Allen will make his second straight start Sunday when Carolina visits the Houston Texans. Carolina coach Ron Rivera wasted no time Monday ruling out quarterback Cam Newton for a second straight game due to a lingering mid-foot sprain. Rivera said there is "no timetable" for Newton's return and that the 2015 league MVP will continue to receive treatment.

NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II will chair the NFL's compensation committee, which among other things negotiates the salary of top league executives, including commissioner Roger Goodell. Rooney replaces Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

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Darnold making progress - Albany Times Union