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 Young's career could be in doubt
Posted: Sunday October 10, 1999 02:28 PM
Sports Illustrated NFL writer Peter King spoke with CNN/SI anchor Bob Lorenz on CNN's NFL Preview before the Week 5 games. Bob Lorenz: 49ers quarterback Steve Young won't be playing again this week. So, Peter, when will we see him on the field again? Peter King : That's the question of the week, Bob. I talked to Steve Young on Friday and I asked him several different ways whether any doctor had told him to retire because of the series of concussions he'd suffered, the sixth of which he had two weeks ago. Young was very evasive, saying, "I'm just getting ready to play [next Sunday] against Carolina." I talked to both San Francisco general manager Bill Walsh and coach Steve Mariucci on Saturday and they said they expect Young to get a fairly positive report Monday when he sees neurologist Gary Steinberg at Stanford. But I also talked to Leigh Steinberg, Young's agent, Saturday night and one of the things Leigh Steinberg told me was "We don't know what the neurologist is going to tell Steve on Monday. He might tell him he can play this week, he might tell him he can't play anymore." So right now, I think Steve Young's career is on hold. I don't want to be an alarmist, but Steve Young has a very, very important appointment at Stanford on Monday. BL: Today gives us a good opportunity to place a barometer on Brett Favre -- it's his 30th birthday. He's got plenty of reasons to celebrate. And remember this, Joe Montana won a pair of league MVPs after the big 3-0 and John Elway won a pair of Super Bowls. You talked to Favre last week; can we expect him to play as long as some of these other great quarterbacks? PK: I don't really think so and I'll tell you why. When I met Favre last week in Green Bay, he was lying on the trainer's table getting treatment for a bad thumb, plus he had a case of the flu, and he said, "Boy, I can't go through this much longer." He's probably been hit as much as any quarterback at the age of 30, and even though he's secure in his place in NFL history -- I think he's one of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time -- I still think there's a lot of doubt around Brett Favre. One of the reasons is, as he told me, "We don't live a white-picket-fence-kind of life. I'm not looking to be on Good Morning America." He's a teetotaler now, but who knows what happens two or three years down the road. For now, he's the state-of-the-art quarterback in the NFL and Happy Birthday to him, he's got Warren Sapp to blow out his candles tonight. BL: Miami coach Jimmy Johnson singled out Dan Marino this week, noting what happened last week at Buffalo when Marino was intercepted twice and involved in all three Dolphins turnovers. Does it shock you that Johnson would criticize his quarterback this way? PK: Yeah, it really does, because Marino's one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Johnson and Marino met on Wednesday and Johnson told Marino, "Dan, if you turn the ball over on Sunday in Indianapolis, I'm pulling you." I think America could well get to know who Damon Huard is on Sunday -- that's Marino's backup in Miami. BL: Some speculate about the future of running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar with the Dolphins? What's the latest there? PK: The Cleveland Browns are going to inquire about Abdul-Jabbar's availability this week and will probably offer some sort of draft choice for him. I think what's going to happen is Miami will look at its roster, particularly if Abdul-Jabbar doesn't play on Sunday or just plays a few snaps, and will see that its other running backs are healthy. Abdul-Jabbar is marginal, they may deal him, Bob. BL: Sunday's Browns-Bengals matchup could go a long way in deciding which team has the top pick in next year's draft. How did the events of this week affect Florida State receiver's Peter Warrick's draft status? PK: The logical thing to say would be "He's had these problems off the field, he's really going to slide in the draft", but I think some teams at the top of the draft still view Peter Warrick as absolute prime choice, along with Penn State linebacker Lavar Arrington. One general manager who'll surely pick in the top five told me, "If Peter Warrick handles this right, we'll have no problem picking him." Plus, this could help the way a team pays Warrick a bonus, they could defer some of it based on his future behavior. BL: This week, Houston was awarded an expansion team for 2002. That means eight four-team divisions and realignment... PK: The great thing for fans that's going to come out of this realignment is that there are going to be regional rivalries born across conferences. You're going to see the Giants play the Jets every year, you're going to see Oakland play San Francisco every year, instead of every three years. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's NFL Preview.
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