Wilson cleared to practice with Giants

New York Giants running back David Wilson has been cleared for contact work after recovering from neck surgery.

Although he attended offseason workouts with the Giants, Wilson was held back from many activities by the team's medical staff until Monday, when the team reported for training camp.

"I got cleared this morning," Wilson said. "That was the best news I'd gotten in a while."

New York's first practice is Tuesday, and the Giants play on Aug. 3 in the Hall of Fame game against Buffalo.

Wilson said the doctors gave him permission to return with no restrictions.

"I can play regular football with no special equipment, no medication, or anything else," he said. "No real concerns. I'm just excited, most definitely. I'm ready to get back out there and compete."

The 2012 first-round draft pick appeared in only five games last season after a solid rookie year in which he led the league in kickoff returns with a 26.9-yard average. He's also had some issues with fumbling.

Wilson was injured last Oct. 6 and underwent fusion surgery on a disk in January. He also has spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal cord.

The Giants added running back Rashad Jennings from the Raiders and he is likely to start this season. They also drafted Andre Williams of Boston College, the nation's leading rusher in 2013.

That, Wilson says, makes for a crowded — and talented — backfield.

"We're all going to be out here," he said. "We have guys striving toward being great or trying to be great and helping the team win. That's when you get a team effort, when everybody is pushing everybody."

Bengals put Geno Atkins on PUP list

Standout defensive tackle Geno Atkins and starting cornerback Leon Hall were among nine players placed on the physically unable to perform list Monday by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Atkins missed seven games and the Bengals' one playoff game last season after undergoing surgery on his right knee. He was injured on Oct. 31 at Miami and was not expected to be ready for the start of training camp.

He was an All-Pro in 2012 and has made two Pro Bowls.

Hall tore his right Achilles tendon on Oct. 20. It was his second such injury in three years.

Atkins and Hall, who started only five times last season, are eligible to come off that list anytime during the preseason. They count against the team's 90-man roster limit.

Punter Kevin Huber also was placed on PUP with a neck problem. Other veterans on the list were guard Clint Boling (knee); linebacker Marquis Flowers (hamstring); receivers Ryan Whalen and Colin Lockett, both with hamstring injuries; defensive tackles Devon Still and Zach Minter, both with back problems.

Cincinnati waived rookie receiver Alex Neutz, placed three players on the non-football injury list — receiver Marvin Jones (ankle), rookie quarterback A.J. McCarron (shoulder) and cornerback Onterio McCalebb — and signed rookie defensive tackle LaKendrick Ross of Virginia-Lynchburg.

Buffalo's Dareus to enter substance abuse program

Marcell Dareus' attorney says the Buffalo Bills' defensive tackle has agreed to enter an NFL substance abuse program in a bid to have felony drug charges in Alabama dismissed.

Rod Giddens wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Monday that Dareus was allowed to enter the program during a hearing at Cleburne County Court in Alabama earlier in the day. Dareus attended the hearing while being excused from training camp in suburban Rochester, New York.

Buffalo's WKBW-TV first reported the agreement.

Dareus, who is from Alabama, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia after being stopped by a state trooper on May 5.

The charges will be dismissed and potentially expunged should the 2011 first-round draft pick successfully completes the program.

Texans place Cushing on PUP

The Houston Texans have placed star linebacker Brian Cushing on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a left knee injury.

Cushing was lost to the team last Oct. 20 when blocked by Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles. The 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year has been plagued by injuries throughout his five pro seasons.

Cushing is eligible to come off the PUP list at any time during training camp, and he still counts against Houston's 90-man roster limit.

Houston also placed second-year linebacker Trevardo Williams and rookie nose tackle Louis Nix III on PUP. Nix was a third-round pick in May.

Tackle Brennan Williams was waived after he failed a physical.

Manziel leads NFL jersey sales

Second on Cleveland's depth chart, Johnny Manziel already tops one NFL list.

The popular rookie quarterback, who will begin his first training camp this week as a backup, had the league's top-selling jersey since April 1. The league said Monday that Manziel's No. 2 outsold all others from April 1 to July 17 on NFLShop.com.

Manziel is followed on the list by three quarterbacks: Seattle's Russell Wilson, San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick and Denver's Peyton Manning. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is fifth followed by St. Louis rookie Michael Sam, the league's first openly gay player.

New England's Tom Brady is seventh and New Orleans QB Drew Brees is eighth on the list. Minnesota rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is 13th and Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the top overall pick, had the 16th best-selling jersey.

The league did not say how many Manziel jerseys — priced at $99.95 a pop — sold during the period. More than a few seemed to have been purchased in the Cleveland area, where brown or white Manziel jerseys can be found all over the city.

The Browns drafted the former Texas A&M star, who earned his Johnny Football nickname with his playmaking ability, with the No. 22 overall pick on May 8. He's scheduled to report to training camp on Wednesday and will battle with Brian Hoyer to be Cleveland's starter.