All four of the Broncos’ secondary starters were held out of Wednesday’s practice.
It appears it was mostly just a maintenance day in anticipation of what’s ahead, starting with Sunday night’s game at Oakland. Starting safeties T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart and cornerback Chris Harris had their absences listed as not injury related on the team’s official participation report.
Ward still got his message for the Raiders out there, even as he spent the actual practice on the sideline.
Cornerback Aqib Talib, who missed last week’s game vs. the Chargers with a back issue, was also held out. Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak told reporters he believes Talib will play Sunday vs. the Raiders.
Backup cornerback Kayvon Webster missed practice with a hamstring injury and may miss Sunday night’s battle of 6-2 teams. The Broncos are deep in the secondary; Bradley Roby started in place of Talib last week and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after returning an interception for a touchdown.
The Broncos will need every available player Sunday night. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr leads the NFL in pass attempts. Stewart and Ward played all 81 defensive snaps last week vs. the Chargers.
