Knee Injury Sidelines Davis for Season

The Super Bowl champion Denver Bronco’s horrid start reached nightmarish proportions Monday when the team learned that star running back Terrell Davis will be sidelined for the rest of the season.

The Broncos, already reeling from an 0-4 start, said an MRI on Monday revealed that Davis has torn ligaments and torn cartilage in his right knee from a collision on Sunday.

“He will undergo major surgery and is done for the year,” Denver Coach Mike Shanahan told a news conference.

“Any time you lose a great player it sets you back. We’ve been lucky for the last few years that we didn’t have many injuries but with John Mobley and now with TD [Davis], we just have to rely on our other players to pull us out of this.”

Davis suffered the injury late in the first quarter of Sunday’s 21-13 loss to the New York Jets and did not return. His knee twisted as he and teammate Matt Lepsis attempted to tackle Jet safety Victor Green after an interception.

Mobley, a starting linebacker, suffered a torn knee ligament in Denver’s 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last month.

Derek Loville will replace Davis, and rookie Olandis Gary will serve as the backup. Loville, an eight-year veteran, rushed for 57 yards in 16 carries after replacing Davis on Sunday.

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Bronco cornerback Dale Carter was the victim of an unidentified flying metal object Sunday after the Bronco loss. The object hit his face and left Carter with blurred vision Monday morning, but tests showed the orbital bone beneath his left eye wasn’t broken.

“It could have been potentially a catastrophic injury,” Bronco trainer Steve Antonopulos said. “Another inch and he could have been blinded.”

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There is no quarterback controversy with the San Diego Chargers.

Even with a bruised elbow and two slightly cracked ribs, Jim Harbaugh remains the quarterback in the Chargers’ feeble offense, Coach Mike Riley said.

Harbaugh was forced out in the first quarter of Sunday’s 21-14 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Backup Erik Kramer passed for two touchdowns, but it was the Charger defense that won the game, intercepting four Elvis Grbac passes, two of which set up scores.

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The injury-ravaged New York Jets have lost two more players, probably for the season.

Linebacker Chad Cascadden suffered torn ligaments in his right knee in the Jets’ win over the Broncos and will be put on injured reserve this week. Jet Coach Bill Parcells said he will undergo surgery and will sit out the rest of the season.

Otis Smith, who returned from a broken left collarbone on Sunday after being sidelined for two months, suffered the same injury on the first play against the Broncos. Smith, a starter for Parcells with the Jets and the New England Patriots, played most of the first half.

Parcells wasn’t sure if Smith could return this season.

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Defensive tackle Josh Evans rejoined the Tennessee Titans after a four-game drug suspension and said that he had made a big mistake since he already had tested positive once.

“Addiction is a disease whether it’s one time or a thousand times. Like I say, it’s behind me right now,” Evans said.