nfl roundup \ News and notes

49ers: Left tackle Joe Staley limped through the 49ers locker room with a bulky brace on his sprained right knee. Cornerback Nate Clements cradled his broken right shoulder blade in a sling. Both players, injured during San Francisco’s 18-14 loss at Indianapolis on Sunday, will miss at least a month and a half. The 49ers host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday then have a quick turnaround with a home game against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 12. The 49ers said Staley will miss six weeks and Clements 6 to 8 weeks. Staley has never missed a game during his three NFL seasons. Clements has sat out all of one game, missing last year’s Dec. 7 game against the New York Jets with a thumb injury to snap his streak of 119 consecutive starts. Coach Mike Singletary said Monday that Clements wouldn’t be placed on the season-ending injured reserve list and Staley didn’t consider his knee injury to be season-ending. Clements underwent a CT scan and Staley had an MRI exam to further determine the damage.

Raiders: The Oakland Raiders say they will undertake a “serious evaluation” of domestic violence allegations against coach Tom Cable. In a statement released Monday, the team says it does not condone the alleged attacks by Cable against his first wife and former girlfriend. The team also notes it has fired employees for misconduct in the past. Cable declined to respond to any specific questions Monday about whether he has an anger management issue following the allegations from his first wife and former girlfriend on ESPN that he physically abused them at various times during their relationships. Cable said he was the coach of the Raiders and that he thought “my future is to be the coach of the Raiders.”

Titans: Vince Young says the year of watching Kerry Collins from the bench helped him grow and mature. One stat from his first start since the beginning of the 2008 season appears to back that up. It was his first NFL game without being sacked or intercepted. Young helped the Titans (1-6) win their first game of 2009, a 30-13 rout of Jacksonville on Sunday that snapped an eight-game skid dating back to Dec. 21. Now the 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year, the quarterback repeatedly called Tennessee’s future at the position, has the final nine games to show how much he’s really grown and whether he’s worth keeping past this season. Young currently is slated to count $14.2 million against Tennessee’s salary cap in 2010 with a $4.25 million roster bonus due in March. Owner Bud Adams wanted Young starting so the Titans could see what the quarterback could do. “We’ve got to find out how he’s developed over the last two years,” Adams said after the game. “He hasn’t played that much. We’ve got to get him in and find out what he can do. Otherwise we’re going to have a high draft choice, and we’re going to be looking for another quarterback.” Adams liked what he saw as Young was 15 of 18 for 125 yards with 10 runs for 32 yards before two kneel downs to run out the clock. Young also threw a touchdown pass.

Chiefs: The Kansas City Chiefs have reached a settlement with Larry Johnson and agreed Monday to withhold only one week’s pay for making gay slurs instead of two. The settlement saved the two-time Pro Bowl running back about $315,000. His agent, Peter Schaffer, had threatened to take the matter to arbitration. The Chiefs refused any comment other than to say they had finalized the settlement. Schaffer told The Associated Press on Saturday night the agreement had been reached and needed only to be signed. Originally, the Chiefs suspended Johnson for two weeks until Nov. 9, including this week’s game at Jacksonville. He would have lost about $630,000 if the Chiefs had not backed down and then won the appeal. Schaffer told the AP that both sides benefited from the settlement and that Johnson had learned from the entire experience. He posted the slur on his Twitter account after also questioning coach Todd Haley’s credentials. He then repeated the slur the next day to reporters.

Cardinals: Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin hopes to play at Chicago this week despite re-aggravating a right ankle sprain. Boldin re-injured his ankle in the third quarter of a 34-21 loss to Carolina on Sunday. He left the game and did not return. Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Boldin is day-to-day. The three-time Pro Bowler caught three passes against the Panthers to become the leading receiver in franchise history, with 537 career catches.

Seahawks: Coach Jim Mora has put his skidding Seahawks on notice. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said Monday that Mora told his 2-5 team following Sunday’s 21-point loss at Dallas that he was going to evaluate the organization from top to bottom. The team captain says Mora’s “very blunt” message was that if it “means firing somebody” heading into Sunday’s home game against Detroit, then so be it. The coach had been optimistic and upbeat throughout Seattle’s many injuries and losses before the Cowboys blew them out. Hasselbeck said that while some teammates are working harder to get better, “there are some guys just happy to have a job.”

Rams: As Steven Jackson rambled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:38 to go, St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo felt no sense of elation. Here’s what was on the rookie head coach’s mind: “I hope we didn’t score too soon.” Can’t blame the guy for being skittish, considering how long the Rams (1-7) waited between wins. The franchise dropped 17 in a row before Sunday’s 17-10 victory over the one-win Lions, who are every bit as downtrodden. Spagnuolo didn’t even relax much on Monday, revealing a bye week practice schedule that allows the team to keep working mostly in private. The Rams will practice Tuesday and Wednesday before players get the rest of the week off. Spagnuolo is already worried about the Saints, potential double-digit favorites in St. Louis on Nov. 8.

Associated Press