METAIRIE, La. -- Malcolm Jenkins avoided drinking much water before his first Saints practice, hoping that would help him make his mandated training camp weight of 205 pounds.

The 6-foot rookie weighed in at 204, but whatever relief that small triumph provided soon gave way to the distress of heat exhaustion. Not long into practice, trainers took Jenkins aside, pulled his shoulder pads off and poured water over him to cool him down.

"I had to sit out for a little bit and get used to the heat and everything, and the pads, but I got back in there and finished practice," Jenkins said Monday, joking that he might have lost 10 more pounds during practice.

"I've been down here and working out over at Tulane in the heat, trying to simulate things, but coming out the first day and throwing on the pads and helmet with a visor and everything, that adds another element to it," Jenkins said. "It's something I'll have to get used to."

Jenkins isn't the first player succumb to the heat of a south Louisiana summer day during training camp. He had an added disadvantage in that Monday's practice might have been the hottest since camp began. The temperature was about 90 degrees and the humidity around 70 percent, combining for a heat index in excess of 100 degrees.

Making matters worse, Jenkins had to perform a little extra conditioning work at the outset of practice in the form of 40 "up-downs," or drills in which players do a push-up, then jump up on their feet, then go back to ground for another push-up.

"I guess everybody on the defense did 40 up-downs on the first day of camp, so they wanted to make sure I got caught up to speed," Jenkins said.

Selected 14th overall in the first round of the draft, Jenkins agreed to terms on Sunday night to a five-year contract worth up to $19 million, with about $11 million guaranteed. The deal ended a 10-day holdout and got Jenkins to practice in plenty of time to play in Friday night's preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals in the Louisiana Superdome.

Fans at training camp on Monday stood in applause when the Saints took the field, an apparent nod to Jenkins' arrival.

In fact, Jenkins had moved into an apartment in suburban New Orleans, not far from club headquarters, a few days before the club was due to report for camp July 30, hoping that his holdout would be short. Instead, it lasted a week and a half, during which Jenkins kept a relatively low profile.

He worked out daily on his own and studied the play book.

• Niners QB situation still in question: Coach Mike Singletary might wait until Thursday before deciding on a starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers' exhibition opener against Denver.

Shaun Hill or Alex Smith? Alex Smith or Shaun Hill? The two have been fairly even through the first 10 days of training camp, and both should get plenty of chances against the Broncos on Friday night.

"We'll talk about it prior to the game, figure it out," Singletary said Monday. "We're in no rush to do that."

Singletary plans to keep the competition and evaluation process going through the third preseason game Aug. 29 at Dallas, naming a starter soon after that game. No surprise, both QBs have said they expect to win the job. Their performances in the exhibition games will factor into the decision.

"That's part of it. Hopefully, as we said before, by the third preseason game I think we'll have a pretty decent idea," Singletary said. "There's no guarantee we'll name someone then but hopefully at that time we will. I think the preseason games play a big role. We're going against somebody totally different. We just have to continue to see how they respond, how the team responds to them, how they respond to the pass rush, all those little things."

Hill went 5-3 last season after being named the starter midway through the year. Smith missed all the 2008 season after re-injuring his surgically repaired right shoulder in practice three days before the season opener. He was placed on injured reserve.

Smith completed 20 straight passes spanning two practices Saturday.

"Both quarterbacks have done a tremendous job," center Eric Heitmann said. "For us, we see completions. They both have a commanding presence in the huddle. That's another situation as an offensive unit where we have two guys back there who are great players. We'd be fortunate to have either one of them starting for us."

• Rams' Avery to miss 4-6 weeks: The St. Louis Rams will be without No. 1 wide receiver Donnie Avery for four to six weeks after the second-year player injured his foot during a scrimmage last week.

Avery was hurt Friday and has a stress fracture in his left foot, the team said. The injury could mean he'll miss the first two regular-season games.

"We'll take it day by day, but it's going to be a lot of time," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

After Torry Holt left as a free agent after last season, Avery became the Rams' top receiver. He had 53 catches for 674 yards as a rookie. He was chosen in the second round of the 2008 draft.

Rookie Brooks Foster, second-year player Keenan Burton and veterans Tim Carter, Laurent Robinson and Ronald Curry are among the nine wide receivers in camp fighting for roster spots.

Spagnuolo acknowledged that the Rams will miss Avery's speed, but he still feels that quarterback Marc Bulger can get the job done with the West Coast offense being installed by new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

"The way it's designed, Marc gets the ball out quick," Spagnuolo said. "I always say to the offense, 'just get a bunch of first downs.' That's the object right there."

The veteran receivers in camp all have something to prove.

• Walker sits out Jaguars practice: Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Walker is being held out of practice because of an ankle injury.

Walker injured his ankle during Saturday night's scrimmage and was held out of practice Monday. Coach Jack Del Rio says Walker had minor swelling, but should be back by the end of the week. Del Rio wasn't sure Walker would play in next week's preseason opener at Miami.

Running back Chauncey Washington (concussion), offensive lineman Drew Miller (foot) and linebacker Russell Allen (foot blister) also missed practice. Del Rio said Miller's injury, a lis franc issue, could keep him sidelined a while. Safety Reggie Nelson left practice after getting hit in the chest.

Rookie receiver Mike Thomas (hamstring) returned to practice on a limited basis.

• 3rd player leaves Dolphins camp:-- Fullback Matt Quillen became the third player to quit the Miami Dolphins' training camp, and coach Tony Sparano conceded he could be the reason for the defections.

"It might be me," Sparano said with a chuckle Monday. "I'm not for everybody."

All of the players who have left were long shots to make the team. Quillen signed Thursday and lasted only one practice.

"It has an awful lot to do with passion," Sparano said. "This is a credit to the other guys that are in that locker room: What they are doing right now is really hard.

"If your heart isn't in what you're doing, it does not take long with the heat, with the contact, with the intensity of what we're doing out here, and the way we're doing it, to figure out that maybe this isn't for you."

Once a player reaches that conclusion, it's better for the team that he call it quits rather than keep practicing, Sparano said.

The Dolphins replaced Quillen on the roster by signing receiver James Robinson. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Robinson played in 13 games last year for Toronto of the Canadian Football League, making 25 receptions for 381 yards and one touchdown.

Tackle SirVincent Rogers and safety Ethan Kilmer left camp earlier.

Related

• NFL notebook
• NFL notebook: Bush sits outs Saints' practice
• NFL notebook: Smith denies Cutler-Urlacher rift
• NFL notebook
• NFL Notebook
• NFL Notebook