Ashley Lelie's departure from Denver was a costly one.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan confirmed yesterday that to be free from the final year of his contract, the recalcitrant receiver agreed to pay the Broncos a hefty sum.

The amount is believed to be $982,000.

Not counting players' days off, Lelie skipped 23 days of training camp, making him liable for $14,000 in daily fines totaling $322,000.

The Broncos also wanted Lelie, a former Radford High and University of Hawai'i standout, to repay a prorated portion of his $3.3 million signing bonus, which would amount to $660,000 if divided by five (because his sixth year was voided when he reached certain incentives).

In speaking yesterday for the first time about the three-way deal that sent Lelie to Atlanta, T.J. Duckett to Washington and a conditional package of picks from the Redskins to Denver, Shanahan said at least as important as the draft day compensation was the money Lelie owed the Broncos.

"It wasn't really the pick as much as I just wanted to make sure that they knew whatever the prorated signing bonus was and whatever the fines were that that was going to be a hefty amount. That's a lot of money to pay back," Shanahan said.

COWBOYS

OWENS STILL HURTING

Terrell Owens missed practice again yesterday, virtually ensuring he will miss his third straight preseason game for the Dallas Cowboys this weekend and might not play until the regular-season opener.

Owens missed 15 of 27 training camp workouts in Oxnard, Calif., and the first two exhibition games before the Cowboys resumed practice at home Wednesday.

Owens said Wednesday he aggravated his left hamstring injury by returning to practice too soon last week. The receiver characterized his injury as a "severe pull."

The Cowboys play San Francisco, Owens' original team, tomorrow night. They play Minnesota their last preseason game five nights later.

BENGALS

PALMER READY TO PLAY

Carson Palmer is ready to play.

With his rebuilt knee holding up in practice, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback said yesterday that he will play in the next preseason game, stepping on the field and taking a hit for the first time since his injury in the playoffs seven months ago.

Palmer is expected to start against the Green Bay Packers Monday night.

"I'm going to play," Palmer said. "Nothing's changed. We set out this date a while back, and everything's been on schedule and I've been fortunate enough to progress from day to day and week to week."

ELSEWHERE

Chargers: San Diego left tackle Marcus McNeill had minor surgery yesterday to repair a broken bone in his left hand and will miss tomorrow night's exhibition against Seattle.

Trade: The Cleveland Browns acquired center Lennie Friedman from the Chicago Bears for a 2007 conditional draft choice.