[bd1fb9ad]Seattle (AP)[/bd1fb9ad] - It was an innocent looking play. They always are when serious injuries happen. Charles Dever, the embattled young Thunderbirds quarterback, lined up under center. Taking the snap, he dropped straight back to pass. Feeling the heat from his right side, he stepped up in the pocket and fired one of his trademark laser beams downfield to tight end Randolph Downing. Downing tiptoed on the sideline before being shoved out of bounds (and to the ground) by Charles Crowder and Floyd Lewis. Eight yard gain. First down. Man down.

"I got up from the tackle and looked back to see Chuck rolling around on the field grabbing his ankle. I knew something was wrong," said Downing. "I thought he was wincing a bit in the huddle the play before that. Could have been something else, though. If he tore his Achilles on the draw (the play before), he wouldn't have got up. No way he throws a ball with as much pop as the one he threw to me."

Dever crumpled like he had been shot. No one touched him on the play. In training camp, Dever had been showing some of the great promise that made him a first round pick in 2003. A more wide-open offense had been installed in an attempt to get the most out of his great right arm. All that is over now, or at least pushed off a year. The team must move on, says GM Aylmar.

"It's unfortunate when you lose a guy like Chuck, especially on a non-contact play. It's a blow to the team. We had big plans for Chuck. He'd been having a good camp. Still, what's done is done. The CFL isn't going to let us wait around until he's healthy. We have a game to play this week."

The Thunderbirds are in negotiations with Leon Turner in an attempt to bring him in as the third quarterback. Francis Burch will get his first ever CFL start this week against Cleveland. Team doctors have put Dever in a cast for two weeks. He will be reevaluated at that time.