Broncos notes: Dawkins not limited by age

ENGLEWOOD • Brian Dawkins turned 36 years old Tuesday, and safeties that old sometimes get pulled out of passing situations.

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels won’t consider limiting Dawkins’ snaps.

“I’d play him on offense if I could,” McDaniels said. “There’s no reason for him to come out.” 

McDaniels said Dawkins still has fresh legs and is integral in getting the rest of the defensive players aligned properly. Dawkins is tied for second on the team with 34 tackles and is second on the team with six passes broken up. Dawkins signed a five-year contract this offseason. While he’s unlikely to play to the end of that contract, he is playing at a high level and isn’t thinking about retirement.

“My time in this game will come that I’ll have to hang it up, but it’s not that time,” Dawkins said. “I don’t think about it right now. I’m able to do too many things on the football field for my team.”

Buckhalter back
Running back Correll Buckhalter, who missed Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, returned to practice Wednesday. Buckhalter started at tailback in Denver’s first four games and has 267 yards this season. While Buckhalter returned to practice, running back LaMont Jordan was absent for undisclosed reasons. Linebacker Spencer Larsen (shoulder) was the only other player out of practice.

Streak ends
Offensive tackle Ryan Clady’s streak of consecutive games without allowing a full sack is officially over at 20 games. STATS Inc. charged Clady with allowing a sack to New England’s Tully Banta-Cain late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game.