McNair Awaiting Word on Injuries

Quarterback Steve McNair was listed as questionable Monday for Tennessee’s game this week with Cincinnati after injuring both an ankle and a knee in Philadelphia.

McNair walked around the Tennessee Titans’ facility Monday afternoon on crutches with a plastic boot around his left foot, waiting on the results of X-rays and an MRI.

McNair was hurt Sunday when he was sandwiched between two Philadelphia Eagles, left the game briefly and returned to set up the winning field goal in a 15-13 victory. But he said his leg stiffened up a couple of hours after the game ended.

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Oakland Raider Coach Jon Gruden knew what down it was and he knew the risks. And he still decided not to try a 59-yard field goal.

Trailing 21-20 against the Steelers with seven seconds on the clock Sunday, the Oakland Raiders went for it and failed on fourth and one on Pittsburgh’s 41-yard line.

Gruden said Monday he was trying to get the Raiders as close as possible for rookie kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who had missed a 44-yarder earlier in the final quarter.

“We knew what down it was. We knew the situation,” Gruden said emphatically. “We were not going to kick a 60-yard field goal.”

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Denver Bronco quarterback Brian Griese threw for the first time since separating his shoulder three weeks ago.

Griese, who has the NFL’s top quarterback rating (102.8), made 15 tosses from about 10 yards. He felt some pain in his throwing shoulder but Coach Mike Shanahan was encouraged. Shanahan said Griese’s return remains indefinite, and he does not plan to rush things as the Broncos (9-4) pursue the Raiders (10-3) and a playoff spot.

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More than 600 mourners, including fellow hall of famers Otto Graham, Dante Lavelli and Bill Willis, attended Lou Groza’s funeral Mass as Cleveland said goodbye to “The Toe.”

“It’s sad when you lose a good friend like Lou,” said Graham, who quarterbacked the Browns in the 1940s and ‘50s. “He lived life to its fullest, and we’re all going to miss him badly. People might remember him mostly as a kicker, but he was a great lineman. He was a wonderful guy.”

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Marcus Robinson, the Chicago Bears’ leading receiver, will sit out the rest of the season because of a bulging disk in his lower back, trainer Tim Bream said. Robinson, a Pro Bowl alternate last year, doesn’t need surgery, but his back will take about eight weeks to heal. At quarterback, Cade McNown, who has missed the last five games with a separated shoulder, was cleared to play this week . . . The St. Louis Rams’ situation has become so dire that Marshall Faulk, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery just four weeks ago, may be used on kickoff returns, Coach Mike Martz said. . . . Green Bay Packer rookie nose tackle Steve Warren tore his right quadriceps in Green Bay’s 28-6 victory over Chicago on Sunday night and probably won’t return until the first month of next season. It is the same injury that sidelined teammate Santana Dotson for the season a week earlier. . . . Cincinnati Bengal cornerback Rodney Heath separated his shoulder during the closing minute of a 24-13 victory over Arizona on Sunday and is out for the season. The Bengals promoted cornerback Sirr Parker, a former Locke High standout, to the 53-man roster from their practice squad, where he has been for the last nine games. . . . The sexual assault trial of former Green Bay Packer tight end Mark Chmura will begin Jan. 23 in Waukesha, Wis., and is expected to last a week to 10 days.