Teammates lobby for Bruce to play vs. old team in potential final game

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Isaac Bruce's final NFL game might be back in the very place where he spent his most productive years.

Mike Singletary said the 37-year-old Bruce's 49ers wide receiver mates approached the coach to say they wanted the 16th-year veteran to play Sunday at St. Louis in the team's last game.

Josh Morgan, who replaced Bruce in the starting lineup, went to Singletary's office Monday and made the case that Bruce deserved this chance.

"You know what, I was kind of surprised, but if it had been me, I don't know, I don't think I would have done it," Bruce said in a rare interview. "I'm a football player and I believe in players earning the right to play. I believe that if one player is better than the other, the best player should play at the time."

Bruce has been inactive the past five contests and for six in all for San Francisco (7-8), which is looking to end a franchise-worst stretch of six straight losing seasons. He said it would be great to play again, but doesn't want it to be an honorary thing in which he disrupts the chemistry of the offense.

"I had asked him earlier what his thoughts were on possibly playing in the game, if he thought about it or whatever," Singletary said Wednesday. "And he said, 'Possibly not.' Then, when I told him about his teammates asking me and inquiring about it, I think it was shocking to him. I'm excited about him finishing the way he should finish."

Singletary called it a "very good chance" Bruce would be on the field. While Bruce said he hasn't decided for sure whether he will retire after the season, he expects to make an announcement soon.

He was a four-time Pro Bowler in his 14 seasons with the Rams.

"As far as this being my last game, maybe," Bruce told reporters in St. Louis. "Probably about 75 percent sure. There's that 25 percent, though."

Bruce has developed a reputation for his quiet, stay-to-himself demeanor but also a tireless work ethic and selfless approach when it comes to helping out young players and leading by example.

He knows there will be some sentimental feelings being back in St. Louis this weekend. That's always the case for him.

"Going back to St. Louis is always special for me," he said. "It gives me a chance to see the guys that run the dome. It gives me another opportunity to look at the banners and the rafters and just have some of the memories that I had when I was playing there with some of my former teammates."

Whether Bruce agreed with the gesture or not, Morgan figured it was the right thing to do for someone who has given so much of his time and expertise to the young players.

"It's bigger than that," said Morgan, who offered up his starting spot for Bruce on Sunday. "He's just an awesome influence. He's been a mentor, a friend -- he's everything coach Singletary wants. ... I was asking him 20-30 questions a day last year. He's been like a coach on the field."

The Rams, who lost 35-0 at San Francisco back on Oct. 4, figure Bruce will be well received Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome - a venue Bruce still loves.

"He'll go down as one of the greatest receivers of all time," said St. Louis defensive end Leonard Little, a teammate of Bruce on St. Louis' Super Bowl champion team in 1999. "Obviously he's a Hall of Fame player and he's proven that over the years. If this is his last year, he deserves to at least have a chance to show his face or be around the fans that have been with him most of his career."