PONTIAC, Mich. — After one game, Detroit Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg is changing quarterbacks.
Ty Detmer, the former Heisman Trophy winner from BYU, will replace Charlie Batch as the starter for the Lions, who struggled offensively in an opening-game loss to Green Bay.
Detmer, obtained Sept. 2 from Cleveland, will start Sunday when the Lions play host to the Dallas Cowboys. Batch was the starter for a 28-6 loss to the Packers in Green Bay.
"We've decided that in the best interest of the team, we are going to make a change at quarterback," Mornhinweg said. "I've been evaluating Charlie since I got here, and after yesterday's play against Green Bay, I feel that we have our best chance of winning with Ty in the lineup."
Batch was 20-of-39 for 276 yards and no touchdowns at Green Bay, well under the 65 percent rate that Mornhinweg expected. Darren Sharper intercepted two passes, and Batch was sacked seven times.
"The play from the quarterback position was unacceptable," Mornhinweg said. "I expected Charlie to play very well for us, but it has become clear to me that we need to go in another direction."
TITANS: Steve McNair is listed as questionable for Tennessee's game with Cincinnati because of a bruised shoulder.
The Titans quarterback feels the same way.
"In the past, I have been a quick healer to where I go out and try to compete if I can," McNair said. "If I feel like I can go out and get the job done, I might play. But at this point in time, it's questionable I'll be able to do anything this week."
It's the same shoulder where McNair had a mysterious infection last winter that puzzled doctors and kept him from making his first Pro Bowl appearance last February. Coach Jeff Fisher said exams showed McNair only bruised the shoulder, although they planned an MRI exam as a precaution.
McNair was hurt Sunday night when Dolphins tackle Jermaine Haley drove him into the turf as he released a touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Titans' 31-23 loss to Miami.
Fisher said McNair won't practice Wednesday or Thursday. If he doesn't practice Friday, then backup Neil O'Donnell would start for the seventh time in the past three seasons.
RAMS: Kurt Warner strained his right thumb in Sunday's overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, but the injury is not expected to sideline the St. Louis quarterback for long.
Warner was hurt in the fourth quarter of the 20-17 victory when he struck the helmet of a pass rusher and bent the thumb back.
"But I don't think that's going to be an issue," coach Mike Martz said Monday. "It's not broken. It's just real sore for him right now."
Warner, who was 28-for-42 for 308 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, might take limited practice repetitions on Wednesday.
"Hopefully, with two or three days rest, he should be all right," Martz said.
STEELERS: Of their half-dozen players carted off the field in the season opener, the Pittsburgh Steelers believe that only wide receiver Will Blackwell will be sidelined indefinitely.
Blackwell, with a torn knee ligament, could miss the rest of the season.
Rookie linebacker Kendrell Bell and defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen both wore protective boots on their sprained ankles Monday, but Bell expects to play Sunday against Cleveland. Receiver Hines Ward expects to play on his sprained ankle.
VIKINGS: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter caught his team's only touchdown pass in a disappointing loss to the Carolina Panthers — the 125th of his career, tying him for fifth place on the career TD list.
But he paid a price for it. He hurt his thigh while landing on the turf after the catch, with both of his feet tucked in the corner of the end zone in the third quarter of Minnesota's 24-13 loss.
Carter played sporadically the rest of the game and is expected to be ready for the Vikings' game next Monday night at Baltimore.
Carter wasn't sure how to respond when asked if he was OK.
"I think OK's a relative term," Carter said. "I've got a deep thigh bruise. It's extremely sore."
49ERS: John Keith, the San Francisco 49ers' top backup safety, could miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee on the opening kickoff Sunday.
Keith was blocked awkwardly on the first play of San Francisco's 16-13 overtime victory over Atlanta. He will undergo surgery Thursday on his knee, which also was surgically repaired in college.
The 49ers haven't decided whether to place Keith on injured reserve because of salary cap issues, but there's a good chance he won't play again this year, coach Steve Mariucci said.
As a rookie, Keith played in just six games last season — starting three — before breaking his arm and missing the rest of the year. After a strong training camp, Keith was expected to back up both Lance Schulters and Zack Bronson this fall.
RAMS: St. Louis Rams backup safety Matt Bowen will be sidelined at least six weeks after breaking his right foot in Sunday's 20-17 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bowen, a sixth-round pick in the 2000 draft who started two games last year, underwent surgery Monday.
Bowen was injured playing on special teams during a punt return in the second quarter. He and teammate Jerametrius Butler were trying to double-team an Eagles player, and Butler was charged with holding on the play, negating an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown by Az-Zahir Hakim.
PATRIOTS: Rookie cornerback Brock Williams signed with the New England Patriots on Monday and was placed on the injured reserve list.
Williams, the Patriots' third-round draft pick from Notre Dame, had knee surgery after being injured during the team's minicamp.
Williams joins two other Patriots rookies who can't play this season because they are on the injured reserve list — fourth-round draft pick Jabari Holloway, a tight end from Notre Dame, and free agent Walter Williams, a running back from Grambling.
BENGALS: Defensive lineman John Copeland reached an injury settlement with the Cincinnati Bengals and was released Monday.
Copeland, a first-round draft pick in 1993, was placed on injured reserve last week with a hamstring injury. If Copeland is still a free agent after the 10th game of the season, he could return to the Bengals.
The Bengals also waived quarterback Scott Covington, who was brought back as a precaution after Scott Mitchell sprained his ankle in the final preseason game.
Mitchell's ankle has improved faster than anticipated, making Covington expendable. Mitchell and Akili Smith are the backups for Jon Kitna.
Defensive end Justin Smith, a first-round draft pick who signed a contract Saturday night, will practice with the team Wednesday. Coach Dick LeBeau said he might play Sunday at Tennessee.
FALCONS: The Atlanta Falcons are facing a growing list of injuries.
Coach Dan Reeves was still unsure Monday which defensive players will be able to practice when the team begins preparing for its Week 2 visit to St. Louis, a team that has averaged 38 points in winning four straight games over the Falcons.
Tackle Ed Jasper and cornerback Conrad Hamilton, two important backups, are unlikely to play this week. Jasper, who spells Travis Hall and Shane Dronett and occasionally relieves Patrick Kerney at right end, injured his right knee in the second quarter.
Jasper said he was worried that he suffered a partial ligament tear when a 49ers linemen blocked his knee. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Monday, and the Falcons didn't expect to see the results until Tuesday.
Hamilton, a third cornerback in Atlanta's nickel packages, left in the first quarter after pulling his hamstring.
Hall reaggravated a sprained ankle, and backup tackle Shawn Swayda, who turned an ankle in practice last week, twisted a knee. Free safety Ronnie Bradford was unable to start after twisting an ankle last Friday.