Hill grounded

Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill’s rocky 2010 has hit another bump with news he’s likely to be out until at least September with a sprained knee.

Coach Pete Carroll said after practice that Hill is going to be out “a few weeks.”

Hill sprained the knee on Tuesday. The coach originally thought it was a minor injury.

“It’s going to be a bit,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be a few weeks probably before our guys will want him to go out full speed. We got to make sure and do this right, because there is a little something that happened there.”

Hill’s troubled offseason had put the outside linebacker’s future with the Seahawks in doubt.

Seattle’s five-year starter got probation on a plea agreement for a marijuana charge in Georgia. The NFL suspended Hill for the Sept. 12 season opener.

Hill also is facing a trial this month in Issaquah on a charge of domestic violence against his girlfriend.

New linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. has been raving about the play of outside linebacker David Hawthorne. The third-year, non-drafted free agent was already getting plenty of time this summer, and was often ahead of Hill in scrimmages before Hill got hurt.

Balmer still absent

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer missed his fourth straight day of training camp and his absence is still considered unexcused.

The team said Balmer met Wednesday night with coach Mike Singletary.

Singletary allowed Balmer to miss Monday and Tuesday workouts as he dealt with a “personal issue.” But the 49ers had expected him back Wednesday.

Balmer, San Francisco’s first-round draft pick in 2008 out of North Carolina, is entering the third year of the five-year, $8 million deal he signed as a rookie. He has yet to start a game and recorded no sacks in his first two NFL seasons.

Titans sign DL Brock

All Raheem Brock wants is a chance to chase quarterbacks, and he believes the Tennessee Titans will give him his best chance to do just that.

The eight-year veteran signed a one-year contract with Tennessee after working out and passing a physical. The Titans had him on the field for practice to help a banged-up unit. Brock had worked out for Houston on Wednesday, but he said Thursday he thinks Tennessee is the best place for someone who spent his career in Indianapolis until now.

“I think I’m in a good situation where I just have to take advantage of it plain and simple,” Brock said after practice. “They play a great defensive scheme that fits what I do. Right now I just have to take advantage of it.”

The Titans open the preseason Saturday night at Seattle.

Jackson improving

Starting inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who initially feared he might be lost for the season, will be sidelined for at least a few weeks with a strained right pectoral muscle, the second chest muscle injury the dependable four-year veteran has sustained in less than a year.

Jackson got positive news on the injury when he got a second opinion from the surgeon who reattached his left pectoral muscle in October. Dr. Frank Cordasco agreed with the diagnosis by Cleveland’s medical staff and determined Jackson will not need surgery.

Jackson will begin rehab and should be back within three to seven weeks. If he doesn’t have any setbacks, Jackson could return for the Sept. 12 opener at Tampa Bay.

Thursday’s games

Ravens 17, Panthers 12: Joe Flacco guided Baltimore’s retooled offense to a pair of scores, and the Ravens defense held Carolina without a touchdown in a home preseason victory. Flacco went 8 for 12 for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Patriots 27, Saints 24: The team that won its first NFL title with the help of big plays couldn’t stop them, as Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard field goal with 53 seconds left gave the Patriots a win at Foxborough, Mass.

Raiders 17, Cowboys 9: At Arlington, Texas, Dallas was within 16 yards of the end zone on four drives against Oakland, yet managed only three field goals.

It came back to bite them when the Raiders got two touchdowns and a field goal in the final 4:58.