National Football League roundup

There were reports speculating that Unger would miss start of the regular season, but Saints coach Sean Payton said otherwise on Saturday.

"We anticipate probably early August," Payton told reporters on day two of rookie minicamp when asked about Unger's return.

The 31-year-old Unger has been dealing with the same foot injury that caused him to miss one game last season.

Payton said Saturday that Unger decided to have surgery about a week ago to insert a screw into the foot after not seeing positive results following the initial plan of resting the injury.

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Cleveland Browns safety Jabrill Peppers signed his participation agreement on Saturday and took part in day two of rookie minicamp practice.

Peppers, the No. 25 overall pick out of Michigan, sat out the first practice of minicamp on Friday because he had not signed the agreement that protects him in case of injury.

Peppers begins his career in Stage One of the NFL's drug program because of a diluted sample at the NFL Combine. On Friday, Peppers denied allegations by a fired ESPN Cleveland contributor that he was using illegal recreational drugs.

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Coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers liked what he saw from the newest players on the team during the three-day rookie minicamp.

Tomlin and his staff got an up-close look at their draft picks -- outside linebacker T.J. Watt, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, cornerback Cameron Sutton, running back James Conner, quarterback Josh Dobbs, cornerback Brian Allen, long snapper Colin Holba and outside linebacker Keion Adams.

"It was a great weekend," Tomlin said. "It was an opportunity to get to know some of the guys that we are working with, an opportunity to get to evaluate some tryout guys.”

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Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans already is more involved in the offense this offseason after the team's struggles on that side of the ball in 2016.

The Texans' offense sputtered with now-departed Brock Osweiler at quarterback last season and O'Brien expects significant improvement in 2017 with Tom Savage and rookie Deshaun Watson under center.

"I've been probably doing more coaching myself in the last four or five weeks than I've done in the three years that I've been here," O'Brien told reporters on Saturday during rookie minicamp.

Rather than hire an offensive coordinator to replace George Godsey, O'Brien announced in January he would instead take over play-calling duties in 2017.

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The Texans placed injured veteran offensive tackle Derek Newton on the reserve physically unable to perform list, ending his 2017 season.

Newton sustained a gruesome injury last season against the Denver Broncos when he tore the patellar tendons in both legs. He avoided tearing his ACL but underwent two surgeries.

Newton will be paid his $4.75 million salary this year as part of his five-year, $26.5 million contract, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"It's a tough injury," coach Bill O'Brien said Saturday. "It's injuries. It's both knees. It's very difficult to come back from that right away. It's not something he can't come back from, but it's very difficult to come back from that within a year. It's that type of an injury.”

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The Arizona Cardinals signed tackle Will Holden, running back T.J. Logan and cornerback Rudy Ford to four-year rookie contracts. All three are 2017 draft picks. (Editing by Andrew Both)