DeMarcus Ware strongly considered retirement in 2009 when he had a serious neck injury.

Ware is considered one of the NFL's two or three best defensive players, being voted to six Pro Bowls since he was the 11th overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2005 Draft.

"You never think that you'll be the guy who's on the stretcher," said Ware. "It's usually a special teams guy, because they have those big impact hits. But the guys on offense and defense, we don't have enough speed built up to have that impact. When I went down, everything just stopped. I thought, "Why am I here?" I actually thought that my body was moving. I thought I was moving my arms, I thought I was moving my legs. But I wasn't. I couldn't move. Mentally, I was moving. But physically, I wasn't. I'm sitting there, just thinking. I was thinking, "I'm that guy." Everyone was watching me, just lying there, unable to do anything. I felt embarrassed, actually. They strapped me up, and I wasn't able to move my neck or arms or legs, but I said, "I'm alright. I'm alright." Then it finally hit me when they took my facemask off. When they took that facemask off, they took something out of me."

Ware considered walking away from the game, but not due to the physical pain.

"No, because I was scared. I was so scared. I started thinking about my family. I thought, "I might have to give football up." I really thought I might have to retire, because I just couldn't imagine going through something so traumatic again."

Andy Dalton appears to have escaped serious injury despite leaving Thursday night's preseason finale against the Colts early with a bruised arm.

Marvin Lewis says Dalton is "fine" and would have returned had it been a regular-season game.

Dalton was hit by Robert Mathis and others on Cincinnati's sixth offensive play. Initially, he stayed down, then got up and walked toward the sideline where he dropped to the ground again.

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said Thursday night that star running back Adrian Peterson probably will be a game-time decision for next week's regular season opener against the Jaguars, according to an ESPN.com report.

Michael Vick's ribs are still sore from the hit he took last week against the Patriots.

He plans to try a new flak jacket for Philadelphia's season opener against Cleveland. It will be designed to cover more of his torso than the previous model.

"I really can't explain what goes into the type of material," Vick said. "I'm just trying something different -- that's all I can tell you ... It's Kevlar. I'm looking forward to it ... to give me more protection and just to see what comes out of it. It's going to be custom fitted and fitted to protect all across my sternum, across my ribs. I think it'll be a better fit."

The Chargers may be without their starting left tackle for Week 1 against the Raiders, as Jared Gaither underwent an MRI on Tuesday for an undisclosed injury.

Gaither was claimed off waivers last November from the Chiefs and signed a four-year deal in the offseason.

The Tennessee Titans have activated Kenny Britt from the PUP list, allowing him to begin practice with the team next week.

The NFL is expected to suspend Britt.

Britt tore his right ACL last September after a fast start to 2011.

The Vikings are now allowing Adrian Peterson to take hits in practice as he approaches a full recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

Peterson was hit on Monday for the first time this summer.

"There were times there was nowhere to go and he had to run into people, and he responded well," coach Leslier Frazier said. "That was good to see. There were some good, hard hits. Nothing to the ground, just guys thudding him."

Matthew Stafford broke a blood vessel in his left hand, but still expects to be ready for his team's regular season opener against the Rams.

Stafford suffered the injury against the Raiders on Saturday.

"It was just scary to look down and see your hand swelling up by the second," Stafford said. "That kind of freaked me out. The skin kind of just grew by the second. I didn't know what was going on."

The Ravens have placed Terrell Suggs on the physically unable to perform list.

Suggs will therefore miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

Suggs tore his Achilles' tendon while playing basketball.

The Giants have seen a number of players suffer injuries this preseason, leading Tom Coughlin to worry about the team's depth.

Prince Amukamara suffered a high-ankle sprain, while Terrell Thomas reaggravated his surgically repaired right ACL and has been out indefinitely.

"We started with a lot of numbers and those numbers have dwindled now," Coughlin said of New York's secondary. "We are certainly concerned. Concerned is a very modest word."