The Broncos completed a practice in shorts, shells and helmets Wednesday morning in their final practice before flying to Arizona to take on the Cardinals in Thursday night’s preseason finale.

ROLL CALL
Just two players, guards Chris Kuper (forearm) and Tony Hills (neck) missed Wednesday’s practice due to injuries.

PLAYMAKERS

• Quarterback Brock Osweiler found wide receiver Matthew Willis in the end zone for a short touchdown completion during an early-practice red zone session.
• On his first rep of the practice, quarterback Peyton Manning found wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in stride for a one-handed touchdown grab in the back of the end zone.
• Thomas made another long catch later in the practice, again getting behind the defense to haul in a pass from Manning deep down the middle of the field.
• Wide receiver Jason Hill managed to make a tough catch along the sideline despite good coverage from cornerback Tony Carter, who was complimented for being in perfect position just behind Hill.
• During a red zone drill, linebacker Nate Irving made a nice break on the football to nearly secure an interception along the sideline just in front of the pylon.
• Quarterback Adam Weber completed a deep pass to wide receiver Andre Caldwell, who pulled in the reception despite having to fight for position with Carter.
• Rookie cornerback Omar Bolden recorded an interception on a short pass thrown near the sideline.
• Tight end Cornelius Ingram came up with a long reception from Weber in traffic over the middle of the field.

QUICK HIT
Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio wore a headset and a wrist sleeve during practice to simulate making the play calls for the defense.

Tuesday morning, the Broncos practiced for the first time since Sunday’s preseason game against San Francisco, taking the field in shorts, shells and helmets. It marked the first practice since the roster was cut to 75 players on Monday.

ROLL CALL

Guards Chris Kuper (forearm), and Tony Hills did not participate in Tuesday’s practice. Safety Jim Leonhard and linebacker Keith Brooking both participated fully after they were limited by injuries last week.

PLAYMAKERS

• Cornerback Drayton Florence knocked away what looked like a sure completion to wide receiver Gerell Robinson. Florence arrived in front of the intended receiver at the last second after hustling up from deep in the secondary to make the deflection.
• Linebacker Steven Johnson was able to get his hand on a pass at the line of scrimmage to knock the ball to the ground. Johnson made the play while engaged with an offensive lineman, but still found a way to free up a hand and bat down the pass.
• During a red zone drill, a well-thrown pass to Robinson was broken up by linebacker Joe Mays short of the goal line. Mays’ effort earned cheers from several of his defensive teammates.
• Quarterback Peyton Manning found running back Willis McGahee free down the sideline for an easy touchdown completion during red zone work.
• Quarterback Adam Weber found wide receiver Greg Orton deep down the middle of the field for a long completion during team drills.
• On one play during a red zone drill, a pass by quarterback Caleb Hanie glanced off a defender near the line of scrimmage, but still reached its intended target, wide receiver Eric Decker, who reached out to make the grab in the front of the end zone.
• Quarterback Brock Osweiler hooked up with tight end Julius Thomas, who was all by himself in the end zone for the touchdown reception during red-zone work.
• Two defensive linemen showed their athleticism defending screen passes. First, defensive tackle Ben Garland made his way into the backfield to put a quick stop to a designed screen to running back Jeremiah Johnson. Later, defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson quickly diagnosed a screen play and was able to knock the pass to the ground.
• During team drills, running back Knowshon Moreno broke through the defense for a couple of long runs.

QUICK HIT

Before team drills started, punt returners practiced fielding punts with two defenders screaming and running toward them full speed.

ROLL CALL

Safety Jim Leonhard continued getting back into the action on Friday, participating in practice. Head Coach John Fox said defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson was cleared today for practice and play.

Defensive end Jason Hunter (triceps), guard Chris Kuper (forearm), linebacker Keith Brooking (hamstring) and linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring) did not participate.

PLAYMAKERS

• Safety Rahim Moore had a leaping breakup of a Peyton Manning pass down the middle of the field intended for tight end Joel Dreessen.
• On the very next play, Manning hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas over his shoulder down the sideline past cornerback Tracy Porter.
• Cornerback Drayton Florence grabbed an interception off quarterback Brock Osweiler and returned it for a touchdown, executing a finger roll over the crossbar at the back of the end zone to celebrate.
• Cornerback Chris Harris met running back Lance Ball in the backfield as soon as he took a handoff, drawing a loud cheer from the defensive sideline.

The Broncos were back in full pads for Thursday’s practice, and two more players returned to action.

ROLL CALL

Wide receiver Andre Caldwell and linebacker Nate Irving, both of whom suffered rib injuries against the Seattle Seahawks, were back on the practice field in full pads on Thursday.

Defensive end Jason Hunter (triceps), guard Chris Kuper (forearm), linebacker Keith Brooking (hamstring), linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring) and wide receiver Tyler Grisham (knee) did not participate in the session.

Defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson (concussion), “was out here, but he was not full-contact,” Head Coach John Fox said.

Safety Jim Leonhard was not in full pads, but participated in portions of practice. Brooking and Mohamed were on the field in shorts, taking in the session from the sideline.

PLAYMAKERS

• During one-on-ones between receivers and cornerbacks, Champ Bailey slapped the ball out of Demaryius Thomas’ hands on back-to-back reps to force incompletions in the end zone.
• Other standouts from the one-on-one session included cornerback Chris Harris, who had a nice pass breakup, cornerback Tracy Porter, who jammed wide receivers Brandon Stokley and Matthew Willis at the line and prevented completions and wide receiver Jason Hill, who caught a couple touchdowns.
• Defensive end Jeremy Beal notched a sack after fellow defensive lineman Robert Ayers flushed quarterback Brock Osweiler out of the pocket during team drills. Ayers had a sack of his own later in practice.

For the second day in a row, the Broncos practiced in shorts, shells and helmets. Tuesday marked the first time since his signing that safety Jim Leonhard has participated, as Leonhard has been working his way back from a knee injury.

ROLL CALL

While Leonhard took part in practice, a number of players did not. Defensive end Jason Hunter (triceps), guard Chris Kuper (forearm), defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson (concussion), linebacker Keith Brooking (hamstring), wide receiver Andre Caldwell (rib), linebacker Nate Irving (rib), linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring) and wide receiver Tyler Grisham (knee).

Head Coach John Fox also announced that the team waived cornerback Joshua Moore, and Leonhard was officially taken off the PUP list. On Tuesday, cornerback Omar Bolden donned No. 31, Moore’s old number.

PLAYMAKERS

• Wide receiver Eric Decker came up with a nice catch deep down the sideline, making the reception with cornerback Champ Bailey in coverage.
• Bailey came up with an interception of a pass intended for wide receiver Greg Orton, tipping the ball in the air and catching it while running stride for stride with Orton deep down the sideline.

The Broncos took the field for their first post-training camp practice Monday at 11:10 a.m. In its first practice since Saturday night’s 30-10 loss to Seattle, the team practiced in shorts, jerseys, shells and helmets.

ROLL CALL

Defensive end Jason Hunter (triceps), guard Chris Kuper (forearm), defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson (concussion), safety Jim Leonhard (knee), linebacker Keith Brooking (hamstring), wide receiver Andre Caldwell (ribcage), linebacker Nate Irving (ribcage), linebacker Mike Mohamed (hamstring) and cornerback Joshua Moore (hamstring) did not participate in Monday’s practice.

Four players notably made their return to practice — running back Ronnie Hillman, safety Quinton Carter, cornerback Tracy Porter and linebacker Danny Trevathan.

PLAYMAKERS

• During a red-zone drill, cornerback Tony Carter intercepted quarterback Adam Weber near the pylon. Carter caught the ball in stride after making a strong break on the football, and looked to have been on his way to a big run-back if the play was live.