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Lonestar
12-15-2009, 04:11 PM
By Lindsay H. Jones
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/15/2009 01:00:00 AM MST


The Broncos officially lost one of their top special-teams players for the remainder of the season when they placed rookie safety Darcel McBath on injured reserve Monday.

McBath broke his right forearm late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 28-16 loss to Indianapolis.

He had been playing in that game on defense in place of starter Renaldo Hill, who was out because of a sprained ankle.

The Broncos quickly re-signed veteran safety Vernon Fox to take McBath's spot on the active roster.

The Broncos called Fox, who played in 10 games for Denver last year and was with the team through the 2009 offseason, on Sunday afternoon, and he flew from his home in Las Vegas to Denver on Sunday night.

Coach Josh McDaniels said the team especially will miss McBath's contributions on special teams — he had a team-high 11 tackles and played on all of the coverage units. Fox has a chance to play this weekend against Oakland on special teams because of the experience he had with the Broncos' system in the preseason.

"I'm preparing to play this weekend and that means getting in whatever shape I need to get in," Fox said. "I've maintained my level of conditioning and been working hard, but Denver is a different beast. I'm just trying to get back in the swing of things and help the team progress."

McBath's season-ending injury, though, combined with Hill's sprained ankle, leaves the Broncos thin at safety. Rookie David Bruton, who has played little on defense, missed Sunday's game with a thigh injury but is expected to return for the Oakland game. He would be next on the depth chart if Hill can't play.

"We might have to juggle a few other balls here and figure out exactly the best formula to work all those things in," McDaniels said. "We try to do whatever is in the best interest of protecting the deep end of the field. We'll need to get it done in the secondary with the guys that we have."

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com



http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13997887