Three weeks for most men. Three days for the man called Champ.
By all medical rights, Broncos left cornerback Champ Bailey was supposed to be sidelined three weeks with a dislocated shoulder. Instead, he practiced Thursday after missing three days.
“It gives you an idea of how tough he is,” coach Mike Shanahan said.
Bailey has started every NFL game since he was drafted before the 1999 season, a streak of 97 games. It appears the streak will live on to No. 98 when the Broncos play the San Diego Chargers in their home opener Sunday, even though Bailey’s left shoulder was dislodged on the Dolphins Stadium turf last week in the season opener.
After the injury, Bailey didn’t play again in Denver’s 34-10 loss, and Shanahan indicated following the game he could be without the star cornerback for up to three weeks.
Gallant as Bailey’s rapid comeback may be, the concern come Sunday is whether this is good for the Broncos, or good for LaDainian Tomlinson’s runs around end.
“That is the big question,” Bailey said of tackling the Chargers’ star running back. “None of it’s scary to me; I’ll just go play. If he runs my way, I’ll hit him just like I’m 100 percent healthy.”
Mirror receivers
The Broncos’ Rod Smith and the Chargers’ Keenan McCardell won’t go face-to-face Sunday, but the 35-year-old receivers could be jockeying on the NFL’s all-time list.
Entering Sunday, McCardell is 22nd all-time with 9,886 receiving yards; Smith is 23rd with 9,862 yards.
“I knew we were close,” Smith said. “It comes up when you see lists. I go back with Keenan for a long time. He’s one of those guys I pull for. Except for this week.”
McCardell broke into the NFL two seasons ahead of Smith, partially explaining the slight edge he has in several receiving categories. Besides yardage, McCardell’s 764 catches are tied with James Lofton for 14th all-time while Smith’s 719 rank 20th.
But Smith has his buddy beat in touchdown catches, 59 to 55.
“I don’t worry about (lifetime stats), I just want to add to it, whatever the number is,” Smith said. “When the career is over and you look back and say, ‘What did I do in this area for the last 15 years?’ I can look and have it documented because there are stats that say, ‘This is what I did.”‘
Anderson questionable
While Bailey returned Thursday, the status of tailback Mike Anderson was less clear after he was excused from practice to attend the funeral of his mother- in-law. Anderson, who suffered rib cartilage damage last week, was limited to scout-team work Wednesday.
Although it appears likely Anderson will be healthy enough to play, how much he plays could be a game-time decision. There is a chance Tatum Bell could start ahead of Anderson.
The owners are coming
NFL owners have decided to hold their annual spring meetings in Denver. The meetings will be held in May.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
