Narrow Spinal Cord Puts Irvin’s Career in Jeopardy

The neck injury that has sidelined Michael Irvin is no longer his biggest hurdle in returning to the Dallas Cowboys.

Tests for the herniated disk Irvin sustained earlier this month have uncovered a narrow spinal cord, a genetic condition that increases the risk of serious injury if he takes another blow to the head or neck.

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones said the threat posed by Irvin’s condition will have more to do with whether the receiver plays football again than his current injury.

“I don’t see this necessarily as totally being decided by whether the swelling goes down or not,” Jones said. “Right now, I don’t know if that’s the issue.”

In 1986, Green Bay cornerback Tim Lewis and Houston linebacker Frank Bush learned they had the same genetic condition, which is known as cervical stenosis. Both retired.

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Steve Young will be sidelined for the foreseeable future, but he’s not ready to retire.

“I would like to [play again] if it’s appropriate,” the San Francisco 49er quarterback said at a news conference. “Yet it very well might not happen this season. If time runs out on the season, so be it.”

Agent Leigh Steinberg said he doesn’t think Young, still bothered by post-concussion symptoms, will play again this year. The team and Young’s doctors appear to feel the same way.

“I’m taking this thing to the end of the season,” the two-time NFL most valuable player said. “My focus right now clearly is on my health, but I am also focusing on my team. That’s all I’m going to think about right now.”

Although the possibility was raised earlier that he would go on injured reserve, that didn’t happen.

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A pinched nerve in his neck will sideline Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino at least two more games and possibly longer.

“The good part is I’m going to be able to play again at some point,” said Marino, 38. “That sad thing is I don’t know when. It could be in a couple of weeks, and it might not be.”

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After sitting out the last two games because of a pulled hamstring, Chicago Bear quarterback Shane Matthews ran in practice for the first time Wednesday and, barring any setback, will play Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

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The Green Bay Packers have upgraded the contract of LeRoy Butler, making him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.

The Packers signed Butler to a three-year extension, raising his yearly average to $4.6 million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The total worth of his new seven-year deal is $32 million.

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The New England Patriots signed linebacker Jeff Kopp, who was cut three weeks ago by the Baltimore Ravens. . . . The Seattle Seahawks have lost starting center Kevin Glover for the remainder of the season because of a blood clot in his lung. . . . Rookie tight end Jerame Tuman will miss the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season because of a torn ligament in his right knee. . . . Joe Montana, who led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, is among the 71 former NFL players, coaches and contributors nominated for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A list of 15 finalists will be announced in mid-January, with the 2000 inductees announced Jan. 29, the day before the Super Bowl.