ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Broncos cornerback Karl Paymah’s concussion doesn’t appear to be as serious as the one suffered by left guard Ben Hamilton last month.
Paymah is hopeful he can get back on the field this week, but Hamilton will be sidelined indefinitely.
“The specialists in Pittsburgh recommended that he not do anything for two weeks, just stay away from any type of conditioning,” coach Mike Shanahan said Monday. “So, that’s where we’re at right now. He’s not going to do anything for two weeks and at the end of two weeks they’ll evaluate him again and give us their recommendation.”
Hamilton has not missed an offensive snap—5,407 in all—since becoming a starter in 2002, but that streak will end Sunday at Buffalo when Chris Myers is the one protecting Jay Cutler’s blind side.
Hamilton missed the entire preseason after getting hurt in the early days of two-a-days.
Paymah, who was knocked out in the Broncos’ preseason finale when he took a helmet to the head while trying to make a tackle, said he doesn’t have any serious post-concussive symptoms.
“Nothing serious,” he said. “Just the small stuff like minor headaches and stuff. But for the most part, I’m feeling good. We did some cardiovascular (work) today. They were trying to see if they could bring back any symptoms. But nothing arose.”
Paymah, who was carted off the field and hospitalized overnight Thursday, said he hoped to get back on the field this week but didn’t have a timetable.
“I feel good right now but you really can’t rush something like this, so I really don’t know,” said Paymah, a third-year pro out of Washington State.
Paymah had never experienced a concussion before and said it was pretty scary.
“I really didn’t grasp what was going on, so I had no clue I had a concussion. When I came to I was trying to figure out what was the problem, because I felt fine,” he said. “But we have to go through precautionary measures for something of that severity.
“All the tests came out negative. I feel good. That’s the most important thing right now.”
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ROOKIE RUNNER:@ Selvin Young started to turn heads in the last two exhibition games when Travis Henry and Mike Bell were hurt. He ended up snatching the No. 2 job from Bell, who was moved to fullback.
Coach Mike Shanahan said he was impressed by Young, an undrafted rookie out of Texas, much earlier.
“He stood out right from the beginning, a very sharp kid, obviously very fast. But you never know about running backs until they get put in a live situation,” Shanahan said. “Very similar to some of the great backs we’ve had in the past. He took advantage of an opportunity and he’s playing as the second-team back right now.”
With Young’s emergence, the Broncos waived starting fullback Kyle Johnson and plan to rotate Cecil Sapp and Bell there.
Bell rushed for 677 yards and eight touchdowns last year while splitting snaps with Tatum Bell.
“Mike’s a good back,” Shanahan said. “Mike’s got some size. He’s got some running ability. He’s not afraid to block. He helps you on special teams. I feel like we’ve got a great athlete who can do some things to improve our football team.”
Bell wasn’t happy about his “demotion.”
“I don’t think anybody’s really excited when they find out that they’re a fullback when they used to be a tailback,” Shanahan said. “But then they like to be employed. They start to get more enthused about the job when they find out that they’ve actually got a check coming in.
“So, yeah, I think it’s tough on a guy that likes to carry the ball, but we’ve been pretty honest with our players … what we think their roles are and what they can do. We’ve had some great fullbacks go to a tailback and have some success. So, Mike’s a team guy and he’ll give it his best shot. He’s got to because he’s competing with two other guys that are pretty darn talented.
“We’ve got some depth there and it will be interesting to see who wins the position.”
Paul Smith is also listed as a fullback but his primary role is as the Broncos’ new special teams ace.
Although Johnson’s cut came as a surprise, Shanahan said he had been considering the move for some time and it didn’t just pop up Saturday when the final decisions were made in trimming the roster to 53.
“We always include special teams in our evaluation—not that Kyle wasn’t a good special teamer, but we just felt that Cecil and Mike (were better) and obviously Paul Smith was one of the best guys. So, we don’t even look at him as a fullback; we look at him as a special teams guy who can play the fullback position,” Shanahan said. “So, we have a little depth there and that’s why we went in that direction.”
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EXTRA POINTS:@ The Broncos will have to waive a player from their 53-man roster now that they signed DE Simeon Rice. … WR Javon Walker figures he can have a 1,500-yard season now that he’s healthy, he knows the offense better and RB Travis Henry is in the backfield to take some pressure off the passing game.
