Bears try to cover up secondary
Still reeling from the season-ending injury to starting safety Mike Brown, the Chicago Bears learned yesterday cornerback Charles Tillman will miss seven to 10 weeks with a right knee injury.
Tillman has a tibia plateau fracture, a hairline crack in the soft tissue between his right knee and upper leg. Surgery isn't necessary, but Tillman must stay off the leg as much as possible.
"It's very, very small. Nothing extreme. Nothing serious," Tillman said.
But it's a loss Chicago can ill afford with Brown out with a torn Achilles' tendon and Jerry Azumah out indefinitely after having neck surgery.
Todd Johnson will likely start at safety, with Todd McMillon and rookie Nathan Vasher splitting time at cornerback when the Bears take on Minnesota Sunday.
Tillman was hurt in the third quarter of Sunday's 21-10 victory at Green Bay. He didn't think the injury was that serious initially, and even went back in the game and finished with 12 tackles.
Safety valve
Rams coach Mike Martz expects safety Aeneas Williams to temporarily shift to cornerback while the St. Louis secondary recuperates. Williams was a seven-time Pro Bowler at cornerback before shifting to safety last season and making his eighth Pro Bowl. The Rams signed safety Kwamie Lassiter late Tuesday to help bolster their secondary, which is missing starting cornerback Travis Fisher (broken forearm) and backup DeJuan Groce (sprained knee) . . . Colts running back Edgerrin James was upgraded to questionable for Sunday's game against Green Bay despite missing practice with a strained hamstring. "I would not anticipate him playing, but if he practices [today], that would be a step toward playing," coach Tony Dungy said . . . 49ers running back Kevan Barlow has a sprained ligament in his right knee, but expects to play Sunday at Seattle . . . Quarterback Drew Brees was cleared by the Chargers' medical staff three days after sustaining a mild concussion, and took his regular number of snaps in preparation for Sunday's game in Denver . . . Bengals defensive end Carl Powell had arthroscopic knee surgery and is out indefinitely.
