The Sports Xchange

The Seattle Seahawks placed cornerback Tharold Simon on injured reserve Saturday and signed running back Rod Smith from their practice squad.

The Seahawks added Smith to help with their running back depth as Marshawn Lynch will sit out Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to a hamstring injury.

Running back Fred Jackson (ankle) is questionable after being injured against Detroit, meaning rookie Thomas Rawls could be the starter for the second straight game.

Smith, who signed with Seattle in May as an undrafted rookie out of Ohio State, rushed for 70 yards and 10 carries in the preseason and caught six passes for 27 yards. He was waived when the Seahawks reduced their roster to 53 players, then signed to the practice squad.

Simon suffered a dislocated toe on the Friday before the regular-season opener and briefly played in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers before suffering a setback.

—The Dallas Cowboys placed backup running back Lance Dunbar on season-ending injured reserve and promoted wide receiver Vince Mayle from the practice squad.

Dunbar sustained a torn left ACL against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. It was reported earlier in the week that Dunbar would be lost for the season, but the team made the roster move official Saturday.

Dallas is also without quarterback Tony Romo, wide receiver Dez Bryant, cornerback Orlando Scandrick and defensive end Randy Gregory with serious injuries. Linebacker Sean Lee, however, is returning from a concussion he sustained against New Orleans.

—The Pittsburgh Steelers ruled out linebacker Ryan Shazier for Monday night’s game against the San Diego Chargers because of a right shoulder injury.

Shazier will miss his third straight game. The team ruled him out after he missed practice Saturday. He managed to practice earlier in the week.

Shazier was injured against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. He had a team-high 15 tackles, one sack and recovered a fumble in that game. Sean Spence will start in place of Shazier at San Diego.

—Chargers wide receiver Stevie Johnson has been ruled out of Monday bight’s game against the Steelers because of a hamstring injury.

Johnson, who is San Diego’s second-leading receiver with 18 catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns, suffered the injury during the third quarter of last week’s 30-27 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Chargers, though, get Antonio Gates back after the tight end served his four-game suspension for PEDs.

—The Green Bay Packers downgraded wide receiver Davante Adams and safety Morgan Burnett from questionable to doubtful for Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams.

The downgrades for the two players came Saturday — just like last week. Adams is still dealing with an ankle injury and Burnett has a calf injury.

The Packers also added cornerbacks Ladarius Gunter (heel) and Sam Shields (toe) to the injury report as probable. The 4-0 Packers host the 2-2 Rams at Lambeau Field.

—The Denver Broncos released fullback James Casey to make room for defensive end Derek Wolfe, who is coming off a suspension.

Casey only played 20 snaps this season. Casey, 31, was with the Houston Texans from 2009-12 before coming to Denver. He is owed the rest of his $750,000 salary.

Wolfe was suspended four games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. He is expected to start Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

—The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived defensive lineman Matthew Masifilo and promoted tackle Reid Fragel from the practice squad.

Masifilo was with Tampa Bay since 2012, but appeared in only three games — two this season and one in 2014.

Fragel was a seventh-round selection by the Cincinnati Bengals out of Ohio State in 2013, and is in his first season with the Bucs.

—The San Francisco 49ers released cornerback Shareece Wright and promoted guard Andrew Tiller to the active roster.

Wright signed with the 49ers in March and was inactive in each of the team’s first four games of the season.

Tiller, 26, was originally signed to the practice squad in October 2014. He played one game last season. He was released in September and signed to the practice squad.

—The Baltimore Ravens elevated wide receiver and return specialist Jeremy Ross from their practice squad.

To make room for Ross, the Ravens waived defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi.

Ross has played in 34 games (15 starts) in his four-year NFL career. He has 30 receptions for 381 yards and two touchdowns. He also owns 650 yards and one touchdown on 53 punt returns, and 1,184 yards and one touchdown on 47 kickoff returns.

While playing for the Detroit Lions in 2013, Ross was the NFL’s only player to score a touchdown by reception, punt return and kickoff return that season.

—The Oakland Raiders promoted safety Tevin McDonald from their practice squad.

In a corresponding move, the Raiders released veteran safety Taylor Mays. He was questionable on the team’s injury report after missing most of the practice week with an ankle injury.

McDonald was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in May before being waived by Oakland at the end of the preseason. He was active for the team’s Week 2 game against Baltimore but did not play. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder played in 50 games at Eastern Washington (2013-14) and UCLA (2011-12).

—Houston Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, who was in a walking boot on his right foot and ankle Friday as he limped through the locker room, is expected to play next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Clowney has a sprained right ankle, but Texans coach Bill O’Brien is optimistic that the injury is relatively minor for the top overall pick in last year’s draft.

“Looks like an ankle, but I just saw him just now before I walked in here, and he seemed to be doing well,” O’Brien said Friday. “I think you guys probably saw he had a boot on, but that’s just precautionary. He likes to go play pick-up hoop and things like that. Going to try to avoid doing that this weekend. At least I can make you guys still laugh a little bit.”

Clowney was limping during Thursday night’s 27-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and got checked out by trainers. He wound up going back into the game. Clowney finished with two tackles, one for a loss, and a quarterback hit. He played 34 snaps for approximately 52 percent of the defensive snaps.