Mike Anderson’s road to playing Sunday isn’t exactly an expressway, but the banged-up tailback is moving in the right direction.
Anderson was on the field the first part of practice, and coach Mike Shanahan said Anderson took some snaps with the scout team Wednesday as the Broncos began field preparations for Sunday’s game against San Diego at Invesco Field at Mile High.
“He looked good,” Shanahan said of Anderson, who missed all but two series of the Broncos’ 34-10 defeat at Miami with a rib injury.
Anderson, along with star left cornerback Champ Bailey, was listed as questionable on the injury report, and Shana- han said both will be re-evaluated Friday. Anderson has maintained he will be ready to play against the Chargers. Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne will carry the load if Anderson can’t play.
Bailey didn’t practice Wednesday afternoon, but took part in other team activities. His availability likely will be determined on game day.
Bailey, who has not missed an NFL game in 97 games, went out on the first play of the third quarter in Miami with a dislocated left shoulder. Shanahan and Bailey have said he is a longshot to play Sunday. Still, the Chargers wouldn’t be surprised to see him.
“Champ Bailey is still a great player, whether the shoulder is banged up or not,” quarterback Drew Brees said “We’ll kind of game-plan it accordingly and go from there.”
Second-round pick Darrent Williams could get a lot of playing time Sunday at left cornerback, as he did in the preseason when Bailey was out with a hamstring injury. Third-round pick Domonique Foxworth played Sunday when Bailey was hurt and Williams played nickel.
Shanahan said he expects right defensive end Courtney Brown to make his debut Sunday. Brown was held out of the opener as a precaution, after he suffered a dislocated left elbow six weeks ago.
Tight end Nate Jackson will likely return from a hamstring injury next week.
Must-win?
The Chargers and Broncos – the two AFC West playoff teams from 2004 – are 0-1 after surprising season-opening losses. One of those teams will be 0-2 after Sunday.
“I think everybody looks at every AFC West game as a must-win,” Shanahan said. “If you do not look at it that way, you are not being realistic.”
Footnotes
The Chargers returned 276 tickets for Sunday’s game, and they are available through Ticketmaster. … The team worked out in a driving rainstorm for much of Wednesday’s practice. … AFC West rival Oakland has looked at several players Denver cut. Oakland has recently worked out defensive tackle Dorsett Davis, linebacker Terry Pierce, tackle Anthony Clement, linebacker Jashon Sykes and defensive end Anton Palepoi.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
