Sep 5, 2006 9:42 am US/Eastern
Shooting Costly For Chargers Player
SAN DIEGO (AP) ―
Chargers linebacker Steve Foley will miss the season after allegedly being shot near his suburban home by an off-duty police officer.
Foley, who turns 31 next week, was placed on the non-football injured reserve list on Monday, a day the incident and a week before the Chargers open at Oakland.
Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said Foley won't be paid this season. Foley's base pay is $775,000, and it's believed he was due a roster bonus of $875,000.
The outside linebacker, who was being counted on to help anchor the toughest run defense in the NFL, remained hospitalized in stable condition, according to his agent, David Levine.
Because it is not a football injury, the Chargers are letting Levine provide medical updates.
But Levine said information remains sketchy, and his access to Foley has been limited. On Sunday, Levine said he was told Foley was shot three times, in the arm, leg and chest. On Monday, he said he wasn't certain where Foley was shot.
Based on the medical information he was given, Smith decided to put Foley on non-football injured reserve.
"I can't reveal all of that information except that I had enough information that I had to make a football decision," Smith said. "I had to ask, 'What's the timetable?' We felt in the best interest of him and the team, that he would be out of action for the year.
"Obviously this is a big blow," Smith said. "It's a tragedy in itself, as far as the player is concerned. And it's a blow to our football team." San Diego has missed the playoffs nine times in the last 10 seasons.
In March 2005, the Chargers signed Foley to a three-year contract extension through 2009 worth roughly $10 million, including a signing bonus of more than $3 million.
Foley was at Sharp Memorial Hospital. He was visited briefly on Monday by coach Marty Schottenheimer. Trainer James Collins and the Chargers security director, Dick Lewis, also were seen at the hospital.
"I would say he's doing pretty well, given the circumstances," said Schottenheimer, who declined to comment on Foley's condition. "It was good to get a chance to see him again. We're anxious to see him recover as quickly as possible."
Kathy Gambito, Sharp Memorial's marketing director, said she couldn't comment because there wasn't a patient registered under the name Steve Foley.
The Chargers were counting on Foley to rebound from last season, when he was slowed by an abdominal injury and his production fell off to 4 1/2 sacks. He had a career-high 10 sacks, which led the team.
Foley fit perfectly in San Diego's 3-4 defense, with a nasty disposition that made him a strong pass rusher as well as a run-stopper. Last year he lined up opposite Shawne Merriman, the league's defensive rookie of the year who had a team-high 10 sacks.
Shaun Phillips, a pass rushing specialist in his third NFL season, moves into the starting lineup. He was second behind Merriman with seven sacks last year and made three starts in place of Foley.
"We think he's pretty darn good," Smith said. "Now we need to see if he has a good all-around game."
There was no new information released Monday about the shooting.
The Coronado Police Department continued to refer calls to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Glenn Revell said he didn't expect any new information to be released Monday from the homicide division, which is investigating. Revell said he didn't know when the identity of the Coronado police officer would be released.
Sheriff's officials said the shooting early Sunday occurred after the off-duty Coronado officer followed a suspected drunken driver weaving in and out of freeway traffic at speeds up to 90 mph. Authorities said the driver nearly collided with several other vehicles.
It was Foley's second run-in with authorities in 4 1/2 months. He was arrested April 21 on charges of resisting arrest after police said he scuffled with officers. He also was booked on charges of battery on a police officer and public drunkenness.
The district attorney's office reviewed that case but decided there wasn't enough evidence, spokesman Paul Levikow said Monday.
Foley has played eight seasons, for Cincinnati, Houston and San Diego.
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