PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Elway Planning on Facing Raiders

John Elway’s knee injury isn’t as serious as first thought, and the Denver Bronco quarterback intends to play Sunday against the Raiders.

“It’s real encouraging right now,” Coach Wade Phillips said. “There is a possibility he can play. It depends on how he responds to treatment.”

Elway twisted his knee during a quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter against Kansas City on Sunday.

Doctors diagnosed the injury to Elway’s left knee as a strained muscle with mildly stretched ligaments.

Elway said he is sore, but looking toward the Raider game. He also said he hopes to keep the Broncos alive for the playoffs.

“My sights are set on Sunday,” he said. “I’m planning on playing, but it’s hard to say right now.”

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Quarterback Rick Mirer’s broken left thumb has cost him the rest of his Seattle Seahawk season. The right-handed Mirer was scheduled to have surgery Monday night.

“Rick’s definitely out for the next two games and we’re not in the playoff picture at this point,” Coach Tom Flores said, “so it wouldn’t make sense for him to try to play in the third week.”

Flores said Dan McGwire will start in Mirer’s place in Seattle’s final three games against Houston, the Raiders and Cleveland.

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Mike Frier, the Seattle Seahawk tackle who broke his neck in a car accident, can flex his biceps but can’t move his legs or fingers and probably never will, a doctor said.

“He has no sensation below his belly button,” neurosurgeon Michael Schlitt said.

Frier, 25, remained in serious condition Monday, heavily sedated and with his skull and spine in traction.

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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Barry Foster has two broken bones in his lower back, not a bruise as initially diagnosed. He could play Sunday.

Foster sat out the Steelers’ 38-15 victory Sunday in Cincinnati, but probably will play next Sunday against Philadelphia.

Foster’s broken bones are in the lower back and, while painful, can heal while he continues to play, doctors said.

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Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman, who has been out because of a sprained ligament in his left knee, was expected to return to practice and possibly start against Cleveland on Saturday. Cowboy special teams ace Bill Bates had surgery to repair a broken right thumb, and Joe Fishback was activated. . . . Eagle coach Rich Kotite said he will consider benching quarterback Randall Cunningham, who threw an interception that was returned 94 yards by Cowboy safety Darren Woodson on Sunday. . . . Chief coach Marty Schottenheimer said he won’t know for a few days whether quarterback Joe Montana will be able to play Monday against Miami. . . . Minnesota put tight end Adrian Cooper on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury and filled his roster spot with free agent linebacker Richard Brown. . . . A woman who claimed she was raped by Cincinnati Bengal football players in a Seattle-area motel must abide by a $30,000 settlement she accepted, but her children may be able to sue independently, a federal appeals court ruled. . . . Green Bay Packer defensive tackle Gilbert Brown is believed to have knee ligament damage that will end his season.