DAVIE, Fla. -- Thanks to a conflict in sports schedules at
the Trent Green household, his wife was spared the scary sight of
him face down and motionless on the field in Houston.
When the Miami Dolphins quarterback was knocked unconscious by a
severe concussion that could end his career, wife Julie was back
home in South Florida at a tennis match with their children.
"She was listening to the game with an earpiece, but she didn't
have to sit and watch," Dolphins coach Cam Cameron said Monday.
"By the time she got home to see it, he was off the field, so
that's a blessing."
Green's concussion was diagnosed as grade three, the most
severe, and he'll undergo further tests to determine his future. He
has been ruled out of Sunday's game at Cleveland, and Cameron
declined to discuss the possibility the injury will force the
37-year-old Green to retire.
"I don't think we really know the full extent, because there
are some ongoing tests," Cameron said. "Right now I just think
there are too many unknowns."
Cleo Lemon, who replaced Green at Houston, will make his second
NFL start against the Browns. Second-round draft pick John Beck
becomes the backup.
The loss of Green is another blow in a season where little has
gone right for the winless Dolphins and their first-year coach.
Miami and St. Louis are the NFL's only 0-5 teams. The Dolphins
were beaten 22-19 Sunday on a last-second 57-yard field goal,
extending their losing streak to eight games over two seasons,
which matches the franchise record set in 1967.
"When you're losing, it's a struggle," kicker Jay Feely said.
"It's tough to come in to work. It's tough to work hard. You find
out a lot about the players on your team, because you see the guys
who are going to quit, and the guys who are going to keep working
hard."
The latest loss was mitigated by relief that Green wasn't more
seriously hurt.
He took a knee to the head blocking 315-pound tackle Travis
Johnson on an end-around, then crumpled to the ground. Teammates
kneeled in prayer while medical personnel revived Green, and he was
strapped to a stretcher before being carted away to a hospital.
But he flew home with the team, and Feely said it was difficult
to tell he had been hurt.
"I was amazed at how well he felt and how coherent he was,"
Feely said. "He was talking the whole way on the plane flight
home."
Still, Green's second concussion in 13 months leaves his return
in doubt.
A severe concussion in the 2006 opener with the Kansas City
Chiefs sidelined him for eight games. He considered retirement but
said neurosurgeons and neurophysiologists told him he faced no
increased risk of Alzheimer's or dementia if he came back.
Now Green must revisit the subject.
"Our medical staff is coordinating further evaluation and
testing for me this week," he said in a statement. "I want to
thank everyone for their expression of concern over the last 24
hours, especially my teammates and coaches."
Green joins a long injury list for Miami. Also sidelined Sunday
was rookie center Samson Satele, and the Dolphins have yet to
reveal the severity of his neck injury. Free safety Cameron Worrell
hurt his shoulder, the latest injury at a position where Miami has
started a different player every week.
The Dolphins gambled on Green's durability by giving the Chiefs
a second-day draft choice for him in June. His play has been
erratic this season, but his 14 years of NFL experience quickly
made him a team leader.
Lemon acknowledged it was difficult being pressed into duty.
"When you see your guy down and not moving, first of all you
have panic," Lemon said. "I said my prayers for Trent. After that
you have to step up to the plate and lead this team."
Lemon's only previous NFL start came in the final game last
season, when he threw for 210 yards and one score in a loss to
Indianapolis. The Dolphins consider Beck their quarterback of the
future, so Lemon's opportunity could be brief, even if Green
doesn't return.
"Now we've got to see if Cleo has the 'it' we're all looking
for," Cameron said. "The only way you find that out is to put
them out there in pressure situations and see how they perform."