Just three days after undergoing successful surgery to repair his sternum, Titans quarterback Steve McNair told the local media that he's feeling better than he expected after his surgery.

''I feel pretty good,'' McNair said. "I actually feel better than I have the last two or three weeks."

"I thought there was going to be a lot of soreness, a lot of pain in my hip, but that's working out pretty good, and I'm able to move around quicker than I thought I would be."

McNair was released from the hosptial Thursday and was told by doctors to get plenty of rest after a procedure that required removing bone from McNair's hip to repair his sternum.

"They just want me to rest, don't do too much as far as my upper body,'' McNair said. "They don't want me to do too much twisting and torqueing...they just want me to stay still and try to let the bone inside there combine."

McNair said that just three days after the surgery, he's already anxious to being his physical rehabilitation.

"I feel wonderful right now as far as the surgery being so successful,'' McNair said. "Right now I'm feeling great, I'm eager to get out, try to get my body in the best shape of my career, try to evaluate myself and see how I do.''

McNair said he is hopeful that he will be ready to participate in the team's first mini-camps.

"I hoping I can get in after these six weeks and get the stuff done that I need to get done,'' McNair said. ''I'm just going to personally try to get myself ready over the next 12 weeks, preparing just to go out and see how well I feel."

McNair said the surgery will help him through the 2005 offseason both physically and mentally.

"Now that I know that we've got this thing taken care of...that's a relief off of me," McNair said. "I'm just glad we got it done."