Rice’s Season Ends--for the Second Time

Jerry Rice has been lost for the season, his mended knee cracked Monday night and repaired again in surgery Tuesday, raising questions about the decision to let him return to the field so soon.

Rice and San Francisco 49er Coach Steve Mariucci said they have no regrets, and linebacker Gary Plummer said, “He wanted to make a contribution to the team this year and his contribution helped us get home-field advantage, and now his inspiration is going to help carry us through the playoffs.”

But that’s happy talk, offered to disguise a decision that might come back to haunt the 49ers down the stretch at a time when they need a big play the most.

Maybe the 49er brass lacked the gumption to tell the headstrong receiver to wait longer than three months before testing his reconstructed knee in competition. Or maybe Rice’s ego, which has driven him to such storied statistics and accomplishment, could not be held in check with the chance to join the Monday night TV spotlight and the retirement of Joe Montana’s jersey.

“Nobody expected Jerry Rice to come back but Jerry Rice,” said Plummer, but in Rice’s rush to return faster to the field than any other player undergoing reconstructive knee surgery, he lasted 11 plays.

After catching a 14-yard touchdown pass from Steve Young--his third reception of the game--Rice fell hard in the end zone, clobbered by Denver defenders Darrien Gordon and Steve Atwater, and cracked his kneecap.

“It was very surprising, and the word they [team doctors] used was it was a fluke,” Mariucci said. “Obviously, it was a shock to him and a disappointment.”

Rice will undergo therapy for three to four months and is projected to return for a mini-camp in May.

“The thing went well,” Rice said in a TV interview after leaving Stanford Hospital following surgery. “It was unfortunate what happened, but I wouldn’t go back and change nothing.”

To hear Rice tell it, it was an honor to have helped the 49ers, the only thing missing the dramatic touch of being carried from the field on the shoulders of his teammates.

“I felt like I was ready and I sparked the team at the right time,” Rice said. “It was one of those unfortunate things. It comes along with the game of football. I’ll be back. I’m not worried about that.”

Dr. Michael Dillingham, the 49er physician who repaired two torn ligaments in Rice’s knee in early September, was back on the job, repairing Rice’s patella fracture and holding it in place with screws.

Mariucci said doctors told him the two injuries were unrelated, although it is not uncommon for an athlete who has been injured to get hurt while favoring the previous injury.

“If we had to do it again, we would do the same thing,” Mariucci said. .

“He was cleared to go. He felt good. He wanted to go, and that’s when you put a player back in. The injury was very unfortunate. That’s what happens sometimes in football and, as hard as it is, you’ve got to live with it.”

The 49ers must live with Rice in a knee brace again, standing on the sideline in street clothes as they prepare to finish the season in Seattle and then move into the playoffs. He remains the game’s all-time touchdown-scorer, the leader in receptions and receiving yardage, and no further help this season to San Francisco.

“He spent 106 days of tortuous rehabilitation to contribute to this team,” Mariucci said. “He didn’t want to catch another pass. That’s all nice. He’s got a million catches and a million touchdowns and a million yards. He wanted to contribute to this team’s success.

“He set a date. He met the date. He was tremendous, and from that standpoint, it was an incredible feat. We all know how it ended. We’ve got to live with that. We’re going to get him back. He’s going to be more determined than ever to get back here healthy and contribute again.”