SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The picture is worth more than a thousand words.

	Derrick Deese (63) stands over Steve Young after Aeneas Williams' knockout blow.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young lies motionless on the grass, his face planted, his mind oblivious to the cool desert surroundings and to the effects of the jarring tackle just seconds earlier by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams.

While offensive lineman Derrick Deese stood over his fallen teammate, waving for help from the 49ers sideline, nothing else in Young's woozy world seemed to matter -- not his most valuable player awards, his passing titles or his two cherished Super Bowl championship rings. Instead, the concern over Young suffering another concussion -- his fourth in three seasons -- weighed on the minds of his family, friends, teammates and closest associates.

Eight months have passed since that night in Arizona, and the concern remains. Young believes he has recovered fully from the blow that ended his season after three games. During the off-season he married Barbara Graham, and they spent their honeymoon traveling the world. Meanwhile, at home, everyone was trying to get inside Young's head.

Will he play football again in San Francisco? Will he play for the Denver Broncos, as is heavily rumored, or another team? Or will Young take a long look in the mirror and decide that his head, as well as the rest of his 38-year-old body, finally has had enough of the punishment football dishes out?

In January, Young told a group of high school students in Lake Havasu, Ariz., "I'm not sure if I'm coming back. I'm not sure if coming back is the smartest thing to do."

When he showed up at the 49ers mini-camp in April, Young told reporters he still hadn't made a decision. "I've tried to go out of my way to try and be the exemplar for what you do if you get hit in the head. That's rest and see the doctor and make sure everything is fine.

"After you do that and you're completely healed, then there's a little mystery."

The mystery isn't so much if Young will play football again, but whether he should play football again for the 49ers or any other NFL team. The 49ers want a decision by June 1, the all-important date for the salary-cap management of NFL teams, but Young might take longer.

If he wants to continue playing, the decision falls on the 49ers. Doctors could give Young medical clearance, but the 49ers must determine whether the risk outweighs the reward. San Francisco, 4-12 last season, is a team in transition. With a healthy Young, the 49ers can be better in 2000, but the glory days by the Bay appear to have passed.

	“	I think (Young would be) nuts to come back and play. His last concussion, he lay on the ground for who knows how long? It looked like he was dead, or sound asleep. ”
		— Chris Miller, ex-Broncos quarterback

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Troy Vincent, who suffered three concussions last season, said in a weekly online diary last season, "We have to put our egos down and think long-term and do what's best for our families and ourselves. Sometimes we have to take a hard look at the situation and ask ourselves, 'Am I ready?' or better yet, 'Is it worth it?' "

Young has to ask himself those questions.

His agent, Leigh Steinberg, stands by past comments that his client has some desire to play again despite his history with concussions.

"Steve Young and I probably know more about the subject of concussions than any other lay person," Steinberg said. "We've concluded the brain is the last frontier of research. Steve is not in a state of denial. He has the best research base.

"No decisions have been made. Ultimately, the decision is Steve's to make. He considers it the critical decision of his career."

Gary Steinberg, professor and chairman of neurosurgery at Stanford University Medical Center, most recently spoke with Young two weeks ago. He would not divulge the context of their conversation, but is worried about Young and other athletes who have a history of concussions.

"In general, we're all concerned about the risk of sustaining concussions -- for all players," Gary Steinberg said. "It is not a scientific subject. We don't have data to project the risks. We do have studies that show pro football players with multiple concussions score lower on neuropsychological tests."

Steinberg is one of the doctors whose opinions the 49ers will seek before determining whether Young should suit up again. Steinberg said one factor to be considered for anyone with a history of multiple concussions is the symptoms he displays after the concussion.

"There's headache, fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, nausea ... classic symptoms," Gary Steinberg said. "Even if a CAT scan appears normal, it does not guarantee that the brain is normal. What happens when the symptoms go away? What's the risk of having accumulative concussions? That's a gray area.

"I don't think too much is being made (of Young's condition). There should be more awareness. We used to say the player gets 'dinged.' That's changed now. There are long-term effects."

Former Broncos quarterback Chris Miller was tagged with the nickname "Captain Concussion" because of a history of head injuries. Twice, Miller has retired from football because of concussions.

	Steve Young spent the rest of the 1999 season watching from the sidelines.

"I think (Young would be) nuts to come back and play," Miller said earlier this month. "His last concussion, he lay on the ground for who knows how long? It looked like he was dead, or sound asleep, basically."

That picture of Young lying unconscious on the Sun Devil Stadium turf will not be forgotten anytime soon by 49ers coach Steve Mariucci. Besides their player-coach relationship, the two are good friends.

"A lot of time has passed since Steve's last concussion, and he's been feeling great," Mariucci said last week, peering out at the team's empty practice field. "He's clinically passed the tests ...

"You're not going to find any clinical evidence that he's any different than he was a year ago or 10 years ago. And you're not going to find any clinical evidence that he is at any greater risk than several other players in this league that are still playing very well. So, hopefully, it has gone from a health concern to a football issue.

"Does he want to play more? Does he want to play for this team, given our situation? Does he want to play, given the fact he's just been married and he has a multitude of other things he could be doing? He's always had opportunities -- the darn guy is a lawyer. That's just one of the many things he could do right now.

"The guy probably could be better at being a husband, a father, a broadcaster, a politician, an attorney, a CEO ... than he is at quarterback. He's got to decide if this is the time, or is next year? But it's got to be up to Steve."

Walsh has not ruled out Young's return but wants assurances he is not at high risk to suffer another serious concussion.

"If he's cleared to play by the appropriate and notable neurologists, that would open the door for him to be a 49er," Walsh said. "The tests really don't show that much. It's more the expertise of the specialists, their knowledge and history of these kinds of injuries.

	“	If he's cleared to play by the appropriate and notable neurologists, that would open the door for him to be a 49er. ... As we get toward June 1, all of us are going to have to decide Steve's place in football. ”
		— Bill Walsh, 49ers general manager

"As we get toward June 1, all of us are going to have to decide Steve's place in football.

"I would like to see him retire as the top-rated passer in history. That means a lot to me because Joe Montana is No. 2. They would be 1-2 running our style of football. I wouldn't want to see that jeopardized. I wouldn't want to see Steve have a mediocre career here or anywhere else. I wouldn't want to see a lot of disappointed fans in some other city."

Fans in Denver have been led to believe Young is all but a lock to play for the Broncos if he is released from his 49ers contract, which runs through 2003.

And why wouldn't the Broncos want Young, particularly after playing musical quarterbacks with Brian Griese, Bubby Brister and Miller last year? In the three years Broncos coach Mike Shanahan served as the 49ers offensive coordinator (1992-94), Young enjoyed the three most productive seasons of his NFL career. His passer rating exceeded 100, he completed more than 68 percent of his passes (in more than 1,300 attempts) and threw 89 touchdown passes.

When the 49ers hear they're trying to push Young out the door, they get irritated, especially when they hear other teams are eager to reel him in.

"Do I want Steve Young in Denver? My answer is, 'You've got to be kidding me,' " Mariucci said. "Write that. I've said that on the record 1,000 times. Steve knows that, too. If Steve plays, he prefers to play here for a million reasons. And I don't want to put words in Steve's mouth."

Decision 2000 is coming soon in San Francisco. And the 49ers hope Young will make the decision himself. But of all the memories Young has given through the years, the one that lingers most is the one the team would like to forget -- one of the game's great players lying flat on his face, unable to move.

"This is part of the job that isn't much fun," Mariucci said. "It's very necessary, but not much fun to help players -- particularly great players -- decide when enough is enough, or is one more year the right thing.

"Steve's had a full career; he's done everything. So obviously one of the hard parts is just thinking about not having him. You not only miss his production on the field, but the chemistry he brings, the leadership, the image that he brings to the organization.

"Those guys don't come around very often. When the time comes -- whether it's this year, next year or whenever -- yeah, the 49ers will miss him. But the league will miss him. Some individuals represent the league very well. Steve's one of them."