Mark Roman, who entered this season on the bench after 43 consecutive starts, is back in the lineup.

Roman was announced as the starting strong safety Friday when the 49ers declared Michael Lewis out against the Houston Texans because of a concussion.
Lewis has three concussions since Aug. 18, but coach Mike Singletary held out hope that Lewis would be able to take the field Sunday. Instead, the 49ers are taking a cautious approach.
“It was a matter of continuing to talk to the doctors, continuing to talk to the trainers and just making a decision on what’s really best for him,” Singletary said.
With Lewis out, Roman is back in. He started all 32 games in the previous seasons at free safety. Roman’s last start as a strong safety came in 2006, when he started 11 times after taking over for Tony Parrish.
The 49ers like his veteran leadership and durability (he has played in 101 consecutive games, second only Seattle’s Deon Grant, who has 134 straight). In search of a playmaker, the 49ers benched Roman this season and turned the free safety spot over to Dashon Goldson. Roman last registered an interception in 2006.
Sunday, Roman and the secondary face a formidable Houston offense. The Texans’ passing game ranks third in the NFL. Quarterback Matt Schaub leads the league with 14 touchdown passes and ranks second with 1,810 yards.
Houston receiver Andre Johnson ranks No. 2 in the NFL with 572 receiving yards.
To defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, the Texans look a lot like the balanced Atlanta Falcons team that recently hung 45 points on the 49ers.
“Very similar,” Manusky said. “They are a challenge.”
—Quarterback Nate Davis was not scheduled to make the trip to Houston. The 49ers said Davis as the flu. (A team official said it wasn’t swine flu.)
Singletary said he didn’t know who would serve as the third quarterback against Houston. Return man Arnaz Battle and receiver Michael Spurlock are among the 49ers with college quarterback experience.
—Singletary again stopped short of naming rookie Michael Crabtree as a starter. He said Crabtree, Isaac Bruce and Josh Morgan “are all going to play about the same. It just depends on how the game goes. “& There is no significant reason to look at one guy and say ’He’s the starter.”’ “
—Singletary gave a vote of confidence to quarterback Shaun Hill, who is coming off his worst game of the season. “The coaches and myself, we believe in Shaun,” he said. “We believe in his ability to move this team and help us win football games. We’ll just continue to go with that.”
—Running back Frank Gore (ankle) will make his first start since Sept. 27.
—Battle will return punts and Delanie Walker will return kickoffs.