"A lot of players were on the sideline Wednesday because of injuries, including inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans. Coach Gary Kubiak said Ryans suffered an elbow injury in the victory over the New York Jets. Ryans was told to stay inside and rehab his elbow during the morning practice.

Three running backs – Ben Tate (hamstring), Derrick Ward (concussion) and Steve Slaton (hamstring) — were missing, too.

Kubiak was asked if he's concerned about Tate.

"Yeah, I have been," he said. "He's missed a lot of time as a pro football player, and we're waiting to get him out here. But I will say this, from what I saw this morning, I'm hoping like heck he's on this field (Thursday morning).

"We'll see, but it looked like he took a big step forward and needs to get out here and compete.""