Knee knocks out Hasselbeck
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will miss at least three weeks with a strained ligament in his right knee.
And he's not happy about how it happened.
Hasselbeck believes Minnesota's E.J. Henderson could have avoided rolling into his lower right leg early in the second half of Seattle's loss to the Vikings Sunday.
"I don't think it was unavoidable, but only he would know," Hasselbeck said of Henderson and his hit, which was not penalized.
The play occurred when the Vikings' linebacker came off a block and swung his torso into Hasselbeck's leg, which was planted after he had just thrown an incompletion.
"I'm sure he didn't try to put me out for a long period of time -- but they didn't want me to finish the game, either," Hasselbeck said.
Seneca Wallace, a fourth-year veteran, will make his first NFL start Sunday at Kansas City. The Seahawks (4-2) are already without league MVP Shaun Alexander, who is out with a broken foot.
The Steelers aren't saying if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained his second concussion in slightly more than four months after being briefly knocked unconscious during a helmet-to-helmet hit with the Falcons' Chauncey Davis. Roethlisberger was fit enough to fly home from Atlanta with the team and to drive his SUV to a meeting yesterday.
The Steelers did not provide an update on Roethlisberger. Bill Cowher doesn't hold a news conference on Mondays or allow anyone else in the organization to speak about injuries. He will talk to reporters today.
Broncos left tackle Matt Lepsis is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his right knee in the first half of Denver's win over the Browns. "Anytime you lose one of your top players for the season, it's always a pretty good punch," coach Mike Shanahan said after an MRI revealed the tear in Lepsis's anterior cruciate ligament. "It's a knockout punch almost." . . . Colts safety Mike Doss will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Doss had been a starter the last two years but came off the bench the first two games this season until Bob Sanders injured his knee. Coach Tony Dungy is hopeful Sanders will return this week . . . The Packers placed wide receiver Robert Ferguson on injured reserve, ending his season early for the third straight year. Ferguson missed the last two games after injuring a foot in an Oct. 2 game at Philadelphia . . . Tennessee receiver David Givens had a pin removed from his left thumb, and coach Jeff Fisher said he could play Sunday. Givens broke his thumb Oct. 1.
Shawne Merriman's attorney said the Chargers' star linebacker failed a drug test because of a tainted supplement and will continue to play while appealing his four-game suspension. Attorney David Cornwell said he believed Merriman tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, which is prohibited under the NFL's substance abuse policy. Cornwell said the substance was in a supplement Merriman has been taking. "He did not go into the back alley somewhere and put a needle in his butt for steroids," Cornwell said at a news conference. Merriman said he apologized to teammates and coaches earlier in the day for "being a distraction" . . . Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray apologized after being charged with reckless driving and possession of a controlled painkiller, calling his arrest "a big embarrassment." McCray admitted driving faster than 90 mph, but insisted he wasn't racing teammates when he was pulled over Sunday night. He also said he was prescribed two Vicodin pills by team doctors, and the Jaguars expected the prescription drug charge to be dropped.
