SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Two San Francisco 49ers defenders with concussions could be done for the season.
Safety Michael Lewis sustained his third concussion of the season during Sunday’s 45-10 loss to Atlanta and was to have further testing during the off week. Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, who suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff against St. Louis on Oct. 4, is scheduled to be seen by a neurologist on Wednesday.
It will be the first time the 10th-year player has been examined by a neurologist and Ulbrich said Monday he’s not ruling out retirement after sustaining more concussions during his career than he can count.
“I don’t know (how many),” Ulbrich said. “I don’t even really know what a concussion is. They ask me if it’s like seeing stars, but every linebacker in the NFL has five or six of those a game.”
Lewis, who sustained two concussions during an 11-day span in the preseason, could be sidelined for a prolonged period though coach Mike Singletary didn’t want to speculate Monday.
Ulbrich said he’s dealing with his health “day to day” and isn’t thinking about his football career beyond today’s exam. After that he might be forced to make a big decision.
He acknowledged he’s at a point in his life when he needs to think about his long-term health, future and family.
“I have to take all those things into consideration,” Ulbrich said.
Packers bring back OT Tauscher
For all his experience and ability, Mark Tauscher can’t single-handedly bail out the Green Bay Packers’ struggling offensive line.
He probably won’t even be ready to play for Sunday’s game against Detroit.
But once he shakes the rust off from a serious knee injury and subsequent 10-month layoff from football, Tauscher hopes to help in whatever role coaches want him to play. If his intention is to reclaim the starting right tackle job he held for most of the previous nine seasons, he’s going about it very quietly.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to play out,” Tauscher said. “It’s going to really come down to how I’m playing and how the group’s playing.”
Right now, the group is playing poorly.
Aaron Rodgers has been sacked a league-worst 20 times in four games, putting the brakes on an offense that appeared to be nearly unstoppable in the preseason. That’s perhaps the biggest reason the Packers are 2-2 coming off their bye week and looking up at Minnesota and Chicago in the NFC North standings.
So they turned to Tauscher, who signed a deal Monday to return for the rest of the season.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Tauscher participated in individual drills but will likely need at least a week to get into game shape. That means Allen Barbre keeps his job — for now, anyway.
Lions lose CB King for season
Detroit put cornerback Eric King on injured reserve with an injured left shoulder, creating an open spot on the roster.
King was hurt in the second quarter of Sunday’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Lions (1-4) and their depleted secondary will be tested at the Green Bay Packers (2-2) on Sunday.
Detroit also put defensive tackle Mathias Askew on its practice squad injured-reserve list and signed defensive tackle Jervonte Jackson and receiver Kole Heckendorf to the practice team.
Titans’ Harper out up to 6 weeks
Tennessee Titans cornerback Nick Harper will be out up to six weeks after surgery on a broken right forearm.
He is the second defensive back the winless Titans have lost to a broken right forearm. The other is Vincent Fuller, who was injured Sept. 27 against the New York Jets. The Titans hope he might be able to play Nov. 1 against Jacksonville.
Coach Jeff Fisher says the Titans will be stretched a bit thin for Sunday’s game at New England and the team might have to make a roster move.
Tight end Craig Stevens was released from a hospital Monday with a concussion. Stevens was knocked out of Sunday night’s 31-9 loss to Indianapolis after a helmet-to-helmet collision with a teammate.
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