Unlike most of the teams in the league, the Broncos won’t be playing until Sunday night but it appears the extra day isn’t stopping them from making sure veteran players are well rested for their matchup with the Chiefs.
Thirteen regulars sat out of practice on Wednesday, including several who don’t appear to have specific injury concerns coming out of last Sunday’s loss to the Patriots. That list does not include safety T.J. Ward, however. Ward is in the concussion protocol after playing the entire game against New England and punctuating the loss with an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on wide receiver Julian Edelman.
"[He] came in after the game [and] wasn’t feeling good,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said of Ward, via the team’s website. “He’s in protocol, doing good. So he’s in the testing phase right now.”
Tight ends A.J. Derby and Virgil Green are also in the concussion protocol and linebacker Brandon Marshall remains out with a hamstring injury. Defensive end Derek Wolfe left the New England game with a neck injury and didn’t practice, although Kubiak said he believes Wolfe has “a good chance” of playing on Sunday night.
Wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders; cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris; linebacker Von Miller; center Matt Paradis and left tackle Russell Okung were also spectators on Wednesday.