AROUND THE NFL News and notes

49ers: General manager Terry Donahue signed a four-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers.Donahue's new deal will keep him with the club through 2009, owner John York said. Donahue took over the 49ers' football operations on May 2, 2001 after spending two years learning the job under Bill Walsh, who won three Super Bowls as the 49ers' coach before returning as GM in 1999. The 49ers' record has declined for two straight seasons since the club went 12-4 in 2001 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, but York praised Donahue's work in addressing the club's salary cap woes. The 49ers' roster features a league-high 36 players drafted by the club. Donahue also hired coach Dennis Erickson last year after York surprised the GM by firing Steve Mariucci. Donahue coached at UCLA from 1976-95, becoming the most-winning coach in Pac-10 history and earning a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. He spent three years as a television analyst for CBS before joining the 49ers as director of player personnel in 1999. He was promoted to assistant general manager the following year.
Titans: Tennessee signed former Ohio State safety Donnie Nickey, a fifth-round pick from 2003 who was cut last week. The Titans waived third-year cornerback Mike Echols, an Ursuline High graduate. Also, the Titans signed veteran kicker Gary Anderson, making room for the NFL's all-time leading scorer by releasing Aaron Elling after one game. Anderson, a 23-year veteran, rejoins the Titans after the start of the season for the second straight year. Tennessee's regular kicker, Joe Nedney, was placed on injured reserve after the first game last year with a knee injury and before last weekend's win over Miami with a torn hamstring.
Lions: Wide receiver Charles Rogers was placed on injured reserve after breaking his collarbone in the season opener at Chicago, ensuring that he will miss the entire season. A broken collarbone also sidelined the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft for the last 11 games of the 2003 season. He had 22 catches for 243 games in the five games he played. The Lions also placed running back Paul Smith on injured reserve and signed wide receiver David Kircus and cornerback Vernon Fox. Kircus was signed from the practice squad; Fox, a free agent, was released Aug. 31 by San Diego.
Packers: Green Bay cornerback Mike McKenzie's holdout could end soon. Coach Mike Sherman said he was meeting with his recalcitrant cornerback at Lambeau Field this morning. Would he welcome back his best cover cornerback who has missed all offseason workouts while seeking a trade and saying he doesn't think the Packers can win under Sherman? "I've said time and time again over the last couple of months" that McKenzie would be welcomed back, Sherman said. Sherman reiterated there would be no adjustment in or promise to sweeten McKenzie's current contract.
Dolphins: Miami re-signed cornerback Jimmy Wyrick and waived linebacker Corey Jenkins. The Dolphins released Wyrick on Sept. 6 after signing him in August. He had 10 tackles and two passes defensed during the preseason, and had one tackle on special teams. Jenkins had 15 tackles, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery during the preseason. He did not play in the opener against Tennessee.
Cowboys: Dallas released defensive tackle Daleroy Stewart to clear a roster spot for starting nose tackle Leonardo Carson now that he's eligible to join the club. Carson was suspended from the opener without pay for violating the league's personal conduct policy. He spent eight days in an Alabama jail this summer after pleading guilty to trespassing and unlawful imprisonment stemming from a break-in at the home of his ex-girlfriend's sister.
Monday Night Football: Green Bay's win over Carolina in the first game of the season on ABC's "Monday Night Football," was the second-most watched prime-time show of the week, trailing only NBC's debut episode of the "Friends" spinoff "Joey." The game had a rating of 12.5 with a 21 share, the lowest for a season opener on "Monday Night Football" since at least 1994, but still the highest-rated television show of the night. Last year's opener had a rating of 13.3. The 17 telecasts last season averaged an 11.5 rating with a 19 share, and it was the first time since 1994 that the average rating had not declined.
Associated Press