49er Rookie Lineman Collapses

San Francisco offensive lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed in the locker room and was rushed to the hospital Saturday night after the 49ers’ 26-21 preseason loss to the Broncos in Denver.

Herrion was on the field during San Francisco’s 14-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that ended with two seconds left in the game.

Shortly after the 49ers entered the locker room, Herrion collapsed. Emergency workers were performing CPR on the lineman as he was being placed in an ambulance.

Coach Mike Nolan said he had no comments about the game.

“There are more important things on our mind than the game,” he said.

Herrion, a first-year player with the 49ers, played college ball at Utah and spent part of last season on the Dallas and San Francisco practice squads. He played in NFL Europe earlier this year and was listed as a third-string left guard for the Niners.

Players said he collapsed just after coaches finished addressing players after the game.

“All we could do is what we know how to do, and that was stand back and let the medical staff do their job,” 49er defensive lineman Marques Douglas said.

Jake Plummer completed seven of nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown to lift the Broncos to 10 early points.

San Francisco’s Tim Rattay relieved Alex Smith, the first pick of this year’s draft, and was seven for 11 for 91 yards and led the team to two touchdowns, just as he did last week.

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Antonio Gates didn’t meet the San Diego Chargers’ ultimatum to sign a contract by Saturday afternoon, meaning the defending AFC West champions will be without their All-Pro tight end for at least the season opener against Dallas.

In an extreme move to break an impasse in negotiations, the Chargers ordered Gates to report to camp and sign a contract or face a three-game suspension. Gates’ agent and the Chargers continued to negotiate up to the 12:30 p.m. deadline but again failed to agree on a multiyear deal. Gates has refused to sign the $380,000, one-year contract the team tendered him as an exclusive-rights free agent.

Gates will miss the team’s final two exhibition games, at Minnesota next Friday and San Francisco at home on Sept. 1, as well as the season opener against the Cowboys on Sept. 11 at Qualcomm Stadium. If he doesn’t sign by Thursday, he’ll also miss the Sept. 18 game at Denver.

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The NFL suspended Tennessee left tackle Brad Hopkins for the season opener after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife.

Hopkins had expected the punishment from the league after he grabbed his wife’s neck because she wouldn’t stop talking on a cellphone in March.

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Dexter Wynn returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown, Donovan McNabb threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Brian Westbrook, and the Philadelphia Eagles benefited from three turnovers by Kyle Boller in a 20-14 exhibition victory over the host Baltimore Ravens.

Eagle wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has demanded a new contract and has made no secret that he is unhappy, sat out because of a groin injury he aggravated Thursday.

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James Harrison, filling in for injured All-Pro linebacker Joey Porter, scored on a 69-yard return of quarterback Gus Frerotte’s fumble in the first quarter to lead the host Pittsburgh Steelers to a 17-3 exhibition win over the Miami Dolphins, who had five fumbles in the first half and seven overall.

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Adrian Peterson and Antoineo Harris each ran for a touchdown, the Chicago Bears returned a punt for another touchdown and the Indianapolis Colts’ high-scoring offense never got in sync as Chicago held on for a 24-17 exhibition road victory.

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Quarterback J.P. Losman, who has replaced Drew Bledsoe this season as the Bills’ starter, engineered scoring drives on each of his first three possessions to lead Buffalo to a 27-7 exhibition win over Green Bay at Orchard Park, N.Y.

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Eli Manning completed three of nine passes for 150 yards -- 131 of which came on the two scoring plays -- to lead the New York Giants to a 27-21 exhibition win over the Carolina Panthers at East Rutherford, N.J. The second-year quarterback connected on touchdown passes of 90 yards to David Tyree and 41 yards to Amani Toomer.

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Josh McCown threw two touchdown passes in the second half in relief of Kurt Warner to rally the Arizona Cardinals to a 24-17 exhibition victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Kansas City, Mo. Damon Huard, who replaced Trent Green for Kansas City, was one for 12 for 11 yards and two interceptions.

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David Garrard and Derrick Wimbush ran for second-half touchdowns and Josh Scobee kicked one of his two 29-yard field goals at the end of a 17-play, 10-minute drive to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 20-17 exhibition win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa, Fla.

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Doug Gabriel scored two first-quarter touchdowns and the Oakland Raiders’ starting offense moved the ball at will in the first half before the Houston Texans rallied to win the exhibition game, 19-17, on fourth-quarter field goals of 53 and 46 yards by Kris Brown at Houston.

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Rookie wide receiver Braylon Edwards leaped over Michael Echols to catch a seven-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left to give the Cleveland Browns a 21-13 exhibition victory over the host Detroit Lions.

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Dan Snyder’s marketing savvy pushed the Washington Redskins’ revenues last year to $300 million, nearly double the amount the team was grossing when he bought it in 1999.