Possessing a fine sense of linguistic punmanship, safety Nick Ferguson described himself as “nicked up” on Thursday after missing a second consecutive day of practice.
“You just kind of wait to see what Sunday’s outcome is going to be,” he said.
“He’s sore,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan added. “I’d say that he’s closer to doubtful than questionable, but there was improvement today, so you never know.”
Ferguson wasn’t with his teammates on the practice field, but he did stay active while his teammates worked Thursday, saying that he was able to jog around in spite of the knee injury he suffered.
“Yeah, I do all that stuff,” Ferguson said. “I stay in shape. You’ve got to stay in shape. You never know.”
Joining Ferguson on the sidelines for a second consecutive day was wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who continued to recuperate from a knee strain he suffered at Oakland.
Shanahan said he did not know whether Stokley’s recovery could be protracted.
“He couldn’t practice today and we’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” Shanahan said.
Fellow wide receiver Javon Walker was also limited in practice on Thursday after going through the full range of work Wednesday afternoon.
“He was limited; (he’s) still a little bit sore,” Shanahan said. “Not at full speed, but we’ll wait and see with him as well.”
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, quarterback Brodie Croyle made it through a second consecutive practice as he continues to recover from a bruised lower back.
“It feels good,” Croyle said. “The last two days everything’s gone pretty good.”
When asked whether he was pain-free, the second-year quarterback replied, “Pain-free enough.”
Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards ruled third-string quarterback Tyler Thigpen out for Sunday; he suffered a knee injury during their practice Wednesday. Linebacker Donnie Edwards and offensive tackles Kyle Turley and Damion McIntosh did not practice, while safety Greg Wesley was limited.
Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson also did not practice while out of town following the death of his father; Herm Edwards said that Johnson will rejoin the team in Denver on Saturday and will play Sunday.
Tags: Brandon Stokley, Javon Walker, Kansas City Chiefs, Nick Ferguson
Stokley and Walker could prove to be intersting…
Seems like there’s always a position particularly beset by injuries at any one point this year … the last few weeks it was running back; now it appears to be receiver.
Andrew, will Martinez start if Stokley can’t?
Thanks for the updates. Hopefully at least one of the injured WR’s can go Sunday. It’d be nice to see both.
Hey Mason –
How’s Glenn Martinez’s ankle looking? Please tell me we have at least one of the injured receivers returning for sure…
im sure we will have both receivers in action
Well, Martinez has made it through both days of practice, and when I saw him walking off the field while I was waiting to do a quick interview with Scott O’Brien for an item in Friday’s notebook, he didn’t appear to be hobbled in any way.
There is no mention of the status of Larry Johnson. I thought he was “nicked” as well. I sure would like to see him in street clothes this week.
No mention of Johnson today because we touched on him Tuesday when Herm Edwards ruled him out for the game.
Dear Andrew,
Thanks for all your blogs which help me keep up to date.
Unlike the majority I am always sad to see players who I truly RESPECT waived.
At some stage they performed at a level that Coach Shanahan considered warranted a place on the roster. In Sam Adams case you have a pro-bowler who has earned the respect of his peers and does not deserve to be disrespected in the twilight of his career. If nothing else he came across as a great person. I for one wish him well, as I do Jeff Shoate and all the players who are waived.
Unfortunately the GP (and a lot of reporters [not YOU]) seem to think the NFL is a cakewalk. Most people would not survive practice and definitely not a game.
The men on our roster and the coaches have earned my respect and will continue to receive it. They are the men who provide us with so much joy when we win. Why then does anybody see fit to harshly criticise them when another team of respected professionals manages to beat them? I know for a fact that they are their own hardest critics and as Jay mentioned they all stand up and admit their part in the mistakes made.
Who out there hasn’t made mistakes?
Thanks for listening
Kind regards
Wise words, Georgie. Most professions leave the professional open to criticism by somebody…and yeah, it’s usually the criticism of somebody who couldn’t do the same job themselves. That’s life. However talented, gifted, classy, or charming, the players do their jobs for us. That’s right. We pay ‘em. If we didn’t like watching them, they wouldn’t be making so much money.
Personally, I take that as a right to criticize, thank you very much.
And by the way, I never make msitakes.
The rumor involving Shanahan leaving for Michigan is growing and growing! Lots of reports on this coming out now, could it be true?
Wow… a “W” compliment ;D
Thanks for the update, Mason. Good news for special teams, too. Maybe Glenn will break another one (or couple!) this week!
I didn’t realize George Bush was Broncos fan. I would have guessed Cowboys.
George does raise a good point about respecting players that are waived. I do respect Sam Adams and others, but the fact of the matter is he wasn’t doing his job. He was brought in to occupy blockers and help stuff the run. While he isn’t solely responsible for the play of the run defense, he didn’t seem to be making much difference. I wish Sam Adams and other out of work NFL players the best, but if you aren’t doing your job, regardless of what your job is, you are going to be let go.
The Bronco nation doesn’t really care about Ferguson at this moment, since he lost his starting job to the hard working Hamza Abdullah. And after all, Ferguson is just a special teamer anyways, it wouldn’t be a cause for concern.
Andrew, is Rod Smith going to continue to play next year?
The way guys are dropping we need every able body available to play! Rumors are beginning to take flight involving Shanahan to Michigan, now that’s what I call a RUMOR! Come on Walker, suck it up buddy, you’re needed!
Andrew, was Walker not playing because he reinjured his knee? Or just because he wanted to avoid swelling? Also, hypothetically if Walker AND stokley are out Sunday who will be the third and fourth receivers?
Hey Andrew, this is a compliment for your notebook on DenverBroncos.com entitled “Second Chances.” You really brought some great writing to that piece, I couldn’t even tell that I was reading an interview. Fantastic job of creating perspective, which I have been noticing in many other things you have written as well. As endearing as it is to hear of your feelings from having personally met and talked to a lot of these yong men, it is 1000 times more effective when that sentiment is integrated into an objective article. You are a credit to Broncos journalism, and we are glad to have you.
Come on Stoke and Jvon…we need ya for this game…lets make this final push for the playoffs!!………..
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