It has been a little over a month since Chad Mustard bounced back and forth between the Broncos’ 53-man roster and the unemployment line, as he did in each of the first two regular-season weekends — both of which saw him see action.

Now, as the leaves turn from green to autumnal shades of orange, red, gold and brown, Mustard returns to the roster, but Stephen Alexander — who was released to make room for Mustard in Week 2 — will see his season end as the Broncos moved him to injured reserve.

The Broncos announced the moves Thursday afternoon during practice.

Alexander has grappled with a calf injury that he incurred in the preseason finale against Arizona. He was limited in practice throughout the season to date — including Wednesday afternoon’s session — and had not played so far in 2007.

Mustard — who is listed as a tight end in the press release sent out regarding his signing Thursday — worked at offensive tackle in the preseason before being released Labor Day weekend and was listed as an offensive tackle when he was on the roster for the wins over Buffalo and Oakland last month.

Just like last Saturday, the Broncos re-signed offensive lineman Chad Mustard less than 24 hours before kickoff of the weekend’s game.

This time, the team did not release someone at his position to make room.

It was Stephen Alexander who lost his grip on a roster spot, as the Broncos released their primary starting tight end of the 2005 and 2006 seasons to open room for Mustard, who himself was released earlier this week in order to clear the way for the acquisition of backup linebacker Jamie Winborn.

Alexander was inactive for the Week 1 win at Buffalo, while Mustard was in uniform for the game.