ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Broncos tailback Tatum Bell sauntered out of the locker room Wednesday wearing a throwback jersey of former Philadelphia Eagles wideout Harold Carmichael.
These days, it might just be safer to pretend to be a receiver.
The Broncos have gone through a bevy of backs this season, with rookie Peyton Hillis becoming the latest to succumb to an injury, tearing his right hamstring against Kansas City.
Hillis is the fifth different back to go on injured reserve, joining Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Anthony Alridge and Ryan Torain. Selvin Young, the starter when the season began, has carried just once in the last two months because of a torn groin.
That leaves three healthy backs—Bell, P.J. Pope and Cory Boyd, who was promoted from the practice squad Tuesday.
None of them knows who will be starting Sunday at Carolina.
“We’re all in there competing. It makes you work harder in practice,” Bell said. “Whoever the guy is, the rest of the guys will be over there supporting him.”
Boyd, a rookie out of South Carolina, has chosen to don No. 30, just like former Broncos great Terrell Davis.
“Thirty is an honor to wear,” Boyd said. “I’m not saying I’m the next Terrell Davis, but I’ll try to follow in his footsteps the best way possible. I’m going to wear his number in pride.”
Bell was out of football and selling cell phones after his release by Detroit earlier this year when the Broncos called.
It’s a call he wasn’t expecting.
“I didn’t think it would be this year that I’d be back playing,” Bell said. “I’m back now, and I’m looking forward to going out and having a good one.”
Bell suited up three seasons for Denver and gained 1,025 yards in 2006. He’s eager to show he can be counted on to carry the ball 20 times a game.
“If I get a chance to do it, I’ll be able to respond,” Bell said. “I’m happy to be back in this position.”
The Broncos’ system has drastically changed since the last time Bell was in town.
“We’re throwing the ball a whole lot more,” he said, grinning.
Still, in order to set up the pass, the Broncos need some semblance of a rushing attack. Jay Cutler is at a loss to explain the tailback woes.
“It seems like we add a new guy each week,” he said. “But I think we are going to be fine playing with those two guys.”
———
PUTZIER RETURNS:@ Jeb Putzier will have to learn Spanish another time. He’s busy reacquainting himself with the Denver Broncos’ playbook instead.
Cut by the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago, Putzier was planning to purchase instructional DVDs to learn Spanish on his 36-hour drive from the Northwest to his home in Houston when the Broncos called him Tuesday just as he was about to get in line at Barnes & Noble.
“We needed another tight end,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “And obviously we know what Jeb can do and he knows our system.”
The Broncos lost Nate Jackson to a torn hamstring last month and his replacement, Chad Mustard, is dealing with a knee injury and has been limited in practice behind Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler.
So, Putzier was back in a Broncos uniform Wednesday for the first time since getting jettisoned in a salary cap move after the AFC championship game in January 2006.
The team has only a handful of players left from that squad.
“I know probably as many equipment guys as I know guys on the team,” said Putzier, who has 96 catches for 1,251 yards and three touchdowns in his career, plus 10 receptions for 159 yards and a TD in the playoffs.
“It’s great to be back in the snow. I missed the mountains,” Putzier said. “The air is great. The weather is great. I missed it. It’s a great organization. It’s not like that all around the NFL. It’s really exciting to be back in that type of environment.”
Putzier is a seventh-year player who played in Denver from 2002 to 2005 after the Broncos made him a sixth-round draft pick out of Boise State. He spent the next two seasons in Houston and played in six games, starting once, for Seattle this year before the Seahawks waived him on Nov. 26.
The Broncos also waived safety Herana-Daze Jones, who was signed last week and didn’t play in a game, and they signed running back Steve Baylark to their practice squad.
So, why Spanish?
“I had 36 hours to kill—driving,” Putzier said.
Alas, he put the DVDs back on the shelf and scrambled to catch a flight to Denver.
“I was like, ‘All right, I’m leaving. I don’t have time,'” Putzier said. “I’m going to have to study my playbook too much.”
———
FIRST DOWNS:@ FB/LB Spencer Larsen (groin) and WR Brandon Stokley (foot) didn’t practice Wednesday, while CB Champ Bailey (groin) took part only on a limited basis. … The Broncos’ three-game road winning streak is the longest since 2006 when they captured four straight. … Carolina (0-2) and Arizona (0-7-1) are the only two franchises in the league to have never beaten Denver.
———
AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed to this report.
