Pittsburgh Steelers' running back Jerome Bettis will miss today's game at Buffalo because of a sprained ankle.
Bettis, who was downgraded on Friday, will finish 59 yards short of his ninth 1,000-yard season since breaking in with the Rams in 1993. Bettis has started only six games this season as a backup to Duce Staley but gained at least 100 yards in all six.
Bettis ran for 117 yards in the Steelers' 20-7 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 26. He played the entire game but was listed as doubtful on Wednesday's injury report.
Staley is questionable with the hamstring injury that has sidelined him for six of Pittsburgh's last eight games. If he can't play, third-string running back Verron Haynes likely will get most of the carries against the Bills (9-6), who must win to stay in the AFC playoff race. Haynes is averaging 5.3 yards per carry on 47 carries.
The Steelers (14-1) already have home-field advantage and a first-round bye secured for the AFC playoffs, so Bettis understands the decision to hold him out.
"It's an incentive to get 1,000 yards, but it's a bigger incentive to have the opportunity to win the Super Bowl," Bettis said.
A 1,000-yard season would have been the first since 2001 for Bettis, the No. 4 rusher in NFL history. He was injured for much of the second half of the 2002 season, and began the 2003 season as a backup to Amos Zereoue.
Listed as questionable are wide receiver Plaxico Burress (hamstring), who played Sunday for the first time in five weeks, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (ribs). Coach Bill Cowher previously said quarterback Tommy Maddox would make his first start since Sept. 19.
ROGERS SIGNS SIX-YEAR DEAL: The Detroit Lions reached a six-year deal with Shaun Rogers on Saturday, making him the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL, his agent said.
The Lions and agent Kennard McGuire would not reveal terms of the contract.
"This will make Shaun the best-paid defensive tackle in the game," McGuire said. "We are very pleased with what we have been able to get for him."
The 25-year-old Rogers, 6-foot-4 and 345 pounds, was chosen to the Pro Bowl this year and was an alternate last year. He has 75 tackles, four sacks, two blocked kicks and a fumble recovery this season.
MCNAIR RECOVERING: Titans quarterback Steve McNair said the surgery to repair his sternum was successful, but it could be several months before he comes to any conclusions about his future.
In his first comments since doctors grafted bone from his right hip to his chest, McNair said Friday he will throw himself full-throttle into his offseason training.
"At this point in time I know I have to really go out and push and not to overdo it, but just push myself to the limit and see how well of a shape I can get in," said McNair, who underwent the hour-long procedure Tuesday.