Pats DT Siliga hopes to build on last year's play

Sealver Siliga knows about trying to stand out in a crowd.

The youngest of 11 siblings finally found steady work with the New England Patriots after being let go by three NFL teams.

Now he's part of a large group of defensive tackles trying to stay with the club.

Siliga played well after being signed late last season. Now he's taking nothing for granted.

"The time I felt comfortable, I got (traded)," he said Tuesday. "I've been around. So I don't ever let myself feel comfortable because the time I just start feeling comfortable is the time I see the blackout."

That happened after he spent the entire 2012 season with the Denver Broncos. He played in just one game, made one tackle and was traded to Seattle the following training camp.

The Seahawks cut him at the end of camp and he went on their practice squad before being released again.

He joined the Patriots practice squad Oct. 23. He was activated a month later and played the last seven games with them. He started the last six, including two in the playoffs.

"It was big just because last season coming where I came (from) nobody really expected me to do what I did," Siliga said.

Now comes another challenge.

Starting defensive tackles Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly are healthy after missing most of last season with injuries. Their absence gave backups Chris Jones and Joe Vellano extra playing time before Siliga was signed.

All are back at that position along with first-round draft pick Dominique Easley. The Patriots also added veteran defensive end Will Smith

"As a defensive line as a whole, you've got to be able to work together," Jones said. "So, whoever's in there we've got to be able to come together and work together as a team, build that camaraderie, and I thought we did well with that last year."

Siliga had one sack in each of his last three regular-season games, but there's no guarantee he'll be on the active roster when the season starts.

Still, he's at the high point of an NFL career that began in San Francisco's 2011 training camp after he signed as a rookie free agent from Utah. He was cut less than six weeks later.

"It never feels good to get tossed around like that," he said. "I can't control that. All I can control is how hard I work and what I do."

Siliga was tested as a youngster with five brothers and five sisters.

"It was cool," he said with a smile. "I've got a lot of big brothers to beat me up, to toughen me up, so it turned out pretty well."

AP source: Gordon hires attorney, plans defense

Josh Gordon has a new, high-profile teammate to help him fight the NFL.

Facing an indefinite suspension for marijuana use, Cleveland's talented wide receiver has hired attorney Maurice Suh to represent him at his appeal hearing with the league this week, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

Suh, who helped Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman win an appeal for a suspension in 2012, will be with Gordon in New York on Friday, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

ESPN first reported Suh's hiring.

Gordon is facing an indefinite ban under the league's substance abuse policy. While he awaits his hearing, the Pro Bowler has been at training camp with the Browns. He has declined interview requests.

Suh helped Sherman win his appeal of a substance abuse violation on the grounds of a faulty test.

According to the person who spoke to the AP, Gordon will contend failed test results were caused by secondhand marijuana smoke. Gordon's attorney also is expected to point out that Gordon only tested positive once despite being tested over 70 times, and even then two samples taken did not match.

ESPN and profootballtalk.com were first to report Gordon's plans to clear his name.

Gordon, who failed at least three drug tests in college for marijuana, was suspended for two games last season for what he claimed was for a prescribed cough medicine. Despite the suspension, he still led the league in yards receiving and broke several team records. The 23-year-old reportedly checked into rehab following a recent DWI arrest in Raleigh, North Carolina.

If Gordon loses his appeal, he'll have to wait one year to apply to Commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement.

Romo to skip full-pad session for first time at camp

The Dallas Cowboys are taking it easy with Tony Romo's back.

Romo was expected to sit out a competitive practice for the first time at training camp Tuesday, although coach Jason Garrett said it wasn't because of any setbacks from surgery for a herniated disk in late December.

Garrett says the Cowboys are making daily decisions on workload, and Romo is in on them as well.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones said it was the 34-year-old quarterback's idea to skip Friday's full practice, which was lighter work without pads.

Romo did all the competitive work in the first two practices with pads Saturday and Sunday. The team was off Monday, and Romo was part of the morning walkthrough session earlier Tuesday.

"There's an old adage in football, a day off can be really valuable, two days off can be life changing," Garrett said. "So when you get in this kind of a situation, we had yesterday off, got some good work this morning in the walkthrough, some mental work of some of the different situations we're working on."

Romo injured his back against Washington last season but stayed in and threw a game-winning touchdown pass. He had surgery two days before the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia with Kyle Orton at quarterback in a season-ending loss that kept Dallas out of the playoffs.

Jets' Pryor sits out, Amaro limited at practice

New York Jets rookie safety Calvin Pryor sat out practice while he recovers from a concussion, although coach Rex Ryan says the first-round pick is "making strides."

Pryor was hurt during a kickoff return Saturday and is going through the NFL-mandated protocol on head injuries. He must be cleared before he can return to practice. Pryor was on the field Tuesday and stretched before practice, and then worked with trainers.

Second-rounder Jace Amaro was limited. The tight end tweaked his right knee, which has tendinitis, on Sunday and practiced briefly Tuesday before spending the rest of practice on the sideline.

Also among those who didn't finish practice were: wide receiver David Nelson (groin), running backs Bilal Powell (hamstring) and Alex Green (chest), cornerback Ras-I Dowling (foot) and tight end Colin Anderson (thumb).