NFL | Police help Titans find QB Vince Young

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jeff Fisher said Tuesday night the Tennessee Titans didn't have the luxury of waiting to be sure about the safety of their quarterback Vince Young before calling police for help in finding him.

That led to four hours' of uncertainty Monday night before Young contacted the Titans and met with Fisher, a psychologist and police crisis negotiators at the team's headquarters before driving himself home. Combined with Young's reaction to being heavily booed in Sunday's opener, his mental state has been questioned heavily the past two days.

Fisher addressed all those questions on his radio show Tuesday night.

"We can never be too careful sometimes, and sometimes you can't jump to conclusions. You have to wait on information and be patient," Fisher said. "The information I had didn't afford us any patience."

The only thing known for sure? Young has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and Fisher said on his TV show that the quarterback will not play Sunday at Cincinnati. The coach would not give a timetable past that, calling the test results good news and that Young needs to heal up his leg.

What prompted the call to police? Fisher wasn't saying.

"I was given some information from people that were close to him late afternoon, early evening that was quite honestly very concerning to me. I'm not going to go into specifics, but it was concerning to me," Fisher said.

The quarterback was booed by hometown fans in the Titans' opening 17-10 win over Jacksonville for throwing two interceptions. He didn't look like he wanted to go back into the game and then sprained his left knee four plays later.

His knee was sore enough Monday that Young didn't have an MRI exam as scheduled, a test postponed to Tuesday. Then people close to Young so worried about him after he sped off from his home, they called Fisher for help.

Chargers' Merriman

out for season

SAN DIEGO — Star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman pulled the plug on his 2008 season when he told the San Diego Chargers he'll have surgery on the two torn ligaments in his left knee.

The loss of Merriman, whose hard hits earned him the nickname "Lights Out," is a big one for a team that has Super Bowl expectations.

Merriman's decision came two days after he barely resembled the player who had an NFL-high 39 ½ sacks in the past three seasons.

Notes

• A U.S. appeals court says the son of legendary football announcer John Facenda can sue NFL Films over the use of his father's voice. The suit stems from the brief use of his late father's voice in a show about a John Madden video game. Facenda's contract barred commercial use of his deep, solemn voice for product endorsements. The NFL contends the show was an artistic endeavor. But the three-judge panel ruled the show is clearly a commercial. The program aired on the NFL Network just before the game's release.

• The lead detective in the shooting of Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Richard Collier says investigators believe the player was targeted. Sheriff's Detective Dennis Sullivan says Collier remains in critical but stable condition at a Jacksonville hospital, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was shot in his car outside an apartment last Tuesday.

• Looking to bolster their offensive line after injuries to guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams, Jacksonville signed veterans Milford Brown and Chad Slaughter.

• Miami placed rookie starting guard Donald Thomas (foot) on the injured reserve list.