The Broncos will use the bye week to heal key injuries as they prepare for the second half of the season.
In particular, cornerback Champ Bailey and offensive tackle George Foster are expected to be able to come back from the bye in better health than they were in Sunday.
“The bye is coming at a great time for us,” coach Mike Shana- han said. “It’ll give us time to get healthier. … I think by next week, everybody should be able to go full speed. We’ve got some bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.”
Bailey left Denver’s 49-21 victory over Philadelphia late in the third quarter after aggravating a left hamstring injury that kept him out of the Jacksonville and Washington games in early October. Bailey said Sunday that he will play Nov. 13 at Oakland.
“I know it can’t hurt; it’s going to help him,” Shanahan said of Bailey. “He doesn’t have to do anything during the week to push it. He has been practicing over the past two weeks.”
Foster has a second-degree MCL sprain in his knee, suffered Oct. 16 against New England. Shanahan rotated backup Cornell Green into the lineup for a few series against the Eagles.
Shanahan said Foster’s play suffered as a result of the injury. Foster is expected to remain the starter against the Raiders.
“The reason why they rotated was because George wasn’t playing at the level I expected him to play,” Shanahan said.
“I believe a huge part of that was the injury, because he was playing better the previous games. So I wanted to take a little pressure off of him so he didn’t have to play 100 percent of the plays. I thought it would be a good rotation, and I think it was for us because George played good and Cornell played well.”
The Broncos will have a light workout today and then have five days off before returning to practice Monday in preparation for Oakland. Among the things Denver will work on today, Shanahan said, will be the no-huddle and two-minute offenses, situations that aren’t always covered during in-season workouts.
Carswell update
Shanahan and most of his staff visited offensive lineman Dwayne Carswell at an Aurora hospital Monday and presented him with a game ball from the win over Philadelphia. The team dedicated the game to Carswell.
Carswell remains in fair condition after suffering serious internal injuries in a five-car accident Thursday morning.
Carswell may be released from the hospital in the coming days if he continues to progress.
His agent, James Field, watched the game with Carswell on Sunday.
“It really lifted his spirits,” Field said. “That win meant a lot to him.”
Meanwhile, Carswell was officially put on the non-football injury list Monday, ending his season. Denver replaced him with Taylor Whitley, who was cut by Miami in September.
Whitley, 6-feet-4, 315 pounds, started 11 games for the Dolphins last season.
He was a third-round pick from Texas A&M in 2003.
Denver has eight offensive linemen on the active roster, with Green and rookie guard- center Chris Myers as the top backups.
Briefly
Defensive end Marco Coleman was activated for the first time in four weeks and played some in passing situations. …
Defensive back Curome Cox played often in the nickel package, subbing for Sam Brandon. Brandon has a shoulder injury and could return for the game at Oakland. …
Cornerback Roc Alexander returned a kick in the third quarter.
