Add another big-name offensive lineman to the impressive list of veteran players available to the Houston Texans for next Monday’s expansion draft.

The San Francisco 49ers on Thursday placed starting left guard Ray Brown on their five-player expansion list after a league-appointed doctor ruled that safety John Keith was not sufficiently recovered from 2001 knee surgery to meet the requirements for players exposed to the lottery.

Brown, 39, is a 16-year veteran arguably coming off his finest season, a campaign in which he earned his first Pro Bowl berth. It is unlikely that Brown will be chosen by the Texans, since general manager Charley Casserly indicated earlier this week that the expansion team has ruled out selecting players aged 30 or above.

The addition of Brown, though, raises to 14 the number of offensive linemen on the expansion list who started eight or more games in 2001.

Keith tore a ligament in his left knee in the 2001 season opener against Atlanta and he was placed on injured reserve three days later, ending his season. The second-year safety, a fourth-round pick in the 2000 draft, is viewed as a promising player.

He was said to be making progress in his rehabilitation from surgery on the knee, but the doctors ruled he would not be ready to return to the field by June 1, making him ineligible for the draft.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.