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The Denver Broncos don't put their full pads on until Tuesday but they're already a banged-up bunch.

Newly signed receiver Corey "Philly" Brown is in concussion protocol after hitting his head in the weight room and when the Broncos put on shoulder pads for the first time Monday several players hobbled off.

"Football is played in pads http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-tarvarius-moore-jersey , so to put the pads on and watch the guys bang a little bit is always fun," coach Vance Joseph said. "For the running game, and obviously stopping the run, the pads are critical."

Left tackle Garett Bolles and inside linebacker Brandon Marshall were among the casualties Monday.

"Garett Bolles took a shot to the chin. He's being evaluated for a head injury," Joseph said, adding that Marshall "had a minor wrist injury. He's OK."

Cornerback Marcos Rios sat out with a sore hip and tight end Jeff Heuerman sat out with a sore knee, which Joseph said was strictly precautionary.

The Broncos are also dealing with second-year wide receiver Carlos Henderson, who failed to report to training camp while dealing with what the team calls a family situation.

Although Joseph has said it's up to Henderson whether his career will continue, several members of the organization are keeping in touch with their absent teammate.

"Lots of guys have called Carlos. (Wide Receivers) Coach Zach (Azzanni) has been calling him, I've been calling Carlos, his teammates have been," Joseph said. "Obviously, he's having some family issues he's working through and it's really his timeline.

"He can return any time he gets ready to return. It's on him, but his guys are supporting him, the coaches are supporting him. So we're looking forward to having him back."

Henderson was a third-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech last year but he missed his rookie season with a hand injury. He missed much of the offseason program this year with a pulled hamstring and is a long-shot to even make the 53-man roster if he does return.

Joseph said he has no timeline for Henderson to get back.

"We've had some conversations about other things than football. He's not ready for football right now Authentic Isaiah Oliver Jersey , so we're not talking about football a lot," Joseph said. "We're doing a good job as a team of checking on him on a daily basis."

Things should ratchet up overall Tuesday when the Broncos also wear their thigh pads.

"Any time we're full pads, it's like game day," Joseph said. "Every pad's on, mouth guard, chin straps buckled, so it'll look different as far as what they're wearing, but the practice shouldn't look that much different as far as the physical part of it."

Nose tackle Domata Peko, for one, appreciated finally getting to do some hitting in the trenches Monday.

"That what it's about, you know? We don't play without shoulder pads, so when you get them on that's when you really get to get real physical and do your job," Peko said. "Especially up front. In the trenches, you've got to have the pads on and feel that contact to see where you're at and sharpen each other up.

"It was a good first day of shells today. They call it shells, and then full pads tomorrow http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ed-dickson-jersey , but in the trenches, every time we put the pads on it's pretty much full pads. It felt good today."

The Broncos will also be in full pads Wednesday.
Two hours of practice in the heat and humidity weren't enough for Pete Robertson.

As dripping teammates slowly ambled to the locker room and showers Sunday, Robertson lined up on one sideline and sprinted across the field to the other sideline. Then and back, over and over again, for extra conditioning.

As the linebacker tries to make it all the way back from a debilitating back injury that threatened to take football away for good, he's leaving nothing to chance as he tries to make the Washington Redskins.

"It's been a long journey," he said.

A very effective pass rusher at Texas Tech, Robertson figured to be drafted before he herniated a disk in his back while working out before the draft. The injury led to a pinched nerve, and after Robertson insisted on running at his Pro Day workout for scouts, he never heard his name called during the NFL draft.

He signed a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks, but didn't stick, and had been working the graveyard shift loading trucks at UPS for three months when his agent called. The Redskins were interested.

Before hanging up, Robertson told him, "'They aren't ever going to let me go' and I've been here ever since."

And more and more, he seems likely to stick around for a while.

"Petey has been unbelievable Quenton Nelson Jersey Colts ," fifth-year coach Jay Gruden said before a recent practice. "Yeah, he's been great. Very, very athletic, and you're talking about a guy that can possibly help on special teams, as your fourth or fifth linebacker, and he's one because he can run."

When the Redskins signed Robertson last December, they initially used him at running back on the scout team because of a need there. He got in four games and made two tackles late in the season. A defensive end in college, the team has since tried him at inside linebacker, Gruden said, but "that wasn't quite his cup of tea."

"We moved him back down as an outside linebacker/defensive end in nickel. He's done very, very well."

And made an impression on teammates with his willingness to work.

"You know, when we had a lot of guys down and out, he got a lot of reps and you could see the burst that he has and the speed," offensive tackle Morgan Moses said. "He brings another aspect to the game and he works hard, man.

"There's not one thing you tell him to do that he's not going to do it. You tell him to go get some water 50 yards down the field Darius Leonard Youth Jersey , he's going to run and get water 50 yards down the field. He just has that mentality."

It's an appreciation of a second chance Robertson wasn't sure he'd get.

The thought that football might be in his past "went through my mind every night, every morning," he said. "Before I went to bed, when I woke up. ... I knew it wasn't the end of the road for me. I knew it wasn't. I never gave up on the dream, but you always have that thought in the back of your mind: 'Is this it?'"

In the offseason, Robertson added back the 30 pounds he'd lost while away from the game during day-long weekday workouts with his cousin, Redskins star left tackle Trent Williams. Williams was rehabbing after a right knee injury, and Robertson knew he had to make a big impression once the Redskins opened training camp.

So far, he's doing just that, and enjoying it every step of the way.

"I wouldn't trade it for nothing," he said.
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