While he still hopes to play Sunday at Kansas City, special- teams captain Keith Burns watched his chances of rejoining the team take a hit when he experienced swelling in his injured right knee.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Friday that the swelling occurred late Thursday. The linebacker hasn’t practiced all week and is questionable on the injury report, but he still might attempt to play Sunday.
Burns is expected to play Dec. 11 against Baltimore at Invesco Field at Mile High. Burns suffered a second-degree tear of the medial cruciate ligament and stretching of the posterior cruciate ligament Thanksgiving Day at Dallas.
It doesn’t appear backup right tackle Cornell Green (shoulder) will play Sunday. Green, who is listed as doubtful, had been sharing playing time with starter George Foster.
Steroids case
The doctor accused of writing illegal steroid prescriptions for three former Carolina Panthers, including current Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun, advised the players how to take the drugs and still pass league tests, The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., reported Friday.
A judge heard recorded conversations Thursday between Dr. James Shortt and the three players, in which Shortt details how he could help them avoid being detected for performance-enhancing drugs, the newspaper reported.
Shortt has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which include distributing steroids and human growth hormones.
In a consultation with Sauerbrun, on June 24, 2003, Shortt said, “You came to me … wanting some performance enhancement. We can do that – legal performance enhancement – because you’re drug-tested in your profession.”
An attorney representing Sauerbrun cautioned against reading too much into the tapes.
“It was a consultation,” attorney Jim Griffin told the newspaper. “It shows that Todd was seeking the advice of a medical doctor, and that’s all it shows.”
Sauerbrun said he had nothing to add Friday.
Bring the noise
As they often do before road games, Denver practiced with crowd noise Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bill Williamson can be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
