The Broncos will face the Raiders in Oakland on Sunday without Pro Bowl cornerback .
Talib, who missed last Sunday’s victory over the Chargers in Denver, missed his third consecutive day of practice Friday with a back injury and was ruled out by coach .
“He’s got good days and bad days,” Kubiak said. “He’s going to get an injection (Friday) and they’ll let it calm down over the weekend. But he’s doing good, so we feel good moving forward. But we’ll obviously rule him out this weekend and go to work.”
Talib traveled to California on Thursday to seek a second medical opinion on his back. Kubiak told KOA that the team received “positive feedback” from the appointment but Talib would be re-evaluated.
“He’s feeling really good today,” Kubiak said. “He’s in great spirits. But we just have to do the right thing and with the injection he’s getting. The smart thing is to give him a good weekend of rest and see where we’re at when we come back.”
Kubiak wasn’t certain if Talib would travel with the team for its Sunday night game at Oakland, and would confer with head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos to make a decision.
Third-year cornerback , who started Sunday in place of Talib and earned AFC defensive player of the week honors for his performance, will start again in Oakland. and (if healthy) will again be used more in sub-packages.
“For us, it’s always a ‘next man up’ mentality,” said defensive backs coach Joe Woods. “We coach them the same, we rep them the same. So we feel like if that situation occurs, the next guy up, he can step right in.”
Other injuries. Webster missed two days of practice this week because of a hamstring injury, but returned Friday and was among three players listed as questionable to play Sunday. Linebacker Brandon Marshall (hamstring) and center (hip) were the other two, but Kubiak said he expects all to be available.
“We always expect those guys to play,” Kubiak said. “We’ll see. ‘B-Marsh’ has practiced all week. Kayvon came out today and Matt is on a schedule for me. Yes, I’m expecting those guys to be there.”
Fullback Andy Janovich practiced in full all week and will play again with the club on his hand. Janovich has a broken bone in his hand and said he expects the injury to take three to four weeks to heal, so he will continue to play with the brace for protection.
