JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- For the third time in less than two weeks of training camp, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a player succumb to the heat here Wednesday, as veteran wide receiver Donald Hayes had to be removed from the field on a stretcher at the end of the team's afternoon practice.

	Hayes

Ironically, coach Jack Del Rio had cut short the session by about 40 minutes because of the threat of lightning and storms in the area. The practice actually had concluded when Hayes went down to one knee, then began to cramp and spasm. He never lost consciousness.

The temperature at the time was 82 degrees and the heat index was 86 degrees. The 90-minute practice, which followed a torrential downpour, was not an especially taxing one.

Hayes was released from the hospital late Wednesday after receiving treatment. A Jaguars spokesman said that Hayes would return to practice and that his availability for Saturday's exhibition game at Minnesota would be determined Thursday or Friday.

"I don't really know how to explain it," a perplexed Del Rio said. "We didn't have any reason to believe there would be a problem. ... Donald isn't like the other guys (who went down). He's not one of those bigger guys."

"I just know we've done a lot of running the last three days," fellow wide receiver J.J. Stokes said. "A lot of receivers are kind of hurt ... with nicks and dings and aren't able to perform. So it's a lot of running on all of us that are there."

Earlier in camp, defensive tackles Larry Smith and John Henderson were overcome by the heat, and both went down in practice. In the other cases, the incidents occurred in a morning practice, and both players weigh more than 300 pounds and their conditioning was suspect when they reported to camp.

Both are back at practice, though Smith is limited to one practice a day.

Hayes, 28, was down on the field for about 19 minutes as the Jacksonville training staff administered intravenous fluids. He tried to sit up at one point, then fell back again, and finally was placed on a stretcher and rushed to a waiting ambulance. Hayes, who weighs 220 pounds, was taken to Baptist Medical Center.

As the training staff ran to the ambulance, pushing the gurney along, most members of the Jaguars wide receiver corps knelt in a circle and prayed.

A five-year veteran, Hayes was signed by the Jaguars as a free agent this spring after being released by the New England Patriots.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.