Broncos get key starter back at practice for first time in two months

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos have made do at left guard without Ben Powers since the veteran gritted through the final moments of the Broncos’ Week 5 win at Philadelphia despite tearing a biceps muscle. But now he is one step closer to a return.

Powers was back on the practice field Wednesday as the Broncos began their on-field preparations for Sunday’s potential Super Bowl preview against the Green Bay Packers, starting the 21-day window on his potential return to the active roster.

Denver hasn’t lost without Powers, first replacing him with veteran Matt Peart against the New York Jets in London on Oct. 12, then turning to Alex Palczewski after Peart tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee that day.

Palczewski had not worked on the left side of the offensive line in either the NFL or at the University of Illinois prior to this season.

Powers’ return wasn’t the only one welcomed by the Broncos on Wednesday; they practiced with tight end Nate Adkins and defensive lineman D.J. Jones.

Adkins missed the last five games due to a knee injury incurred during the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ Oct. 26 win over the Dallas Cowboys; Jones sat out last Sunday’s win at Las Vegas due to a fourth-quarter ankle injury suffered Nov. 30 at Washington.

BRONCOS PRACTICE WITHOUT ONE PLAYER

Wide receiver Pat Bryant was not on the field as the team went through its individual periods of practice Wednesday.

Bryant landed on the injury report last Thursday with a hamstring issue and was listed with limited participation on the final two days of last week’s practice schedule. But that did not prevent him from playing Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. He finished the game with 32 yards on four receptions, ranking second among Broncos wide receivers in both categories.

The rookie third-round pick played 47.3 percent of the snaps in Las Vegas, his lowest percentage figure since Week 4. But his total of 35 snaps was in line with his participation level since then; from Week 5 through Week 14, he’s played anywahere from 30 to 49 snaps in each contest.

Since the start of November, Bryant has 219 receiving yards on 15 catches, good for a 14.6-yard average. Bryant’s yardaage tally ranks second on the Broncos in that span, trailing only Courtland Sutton’s.

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