Broncos CB Pat Surtain II full participant in Wednesday’s practice; concussion recovery “looks positive”

Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, a sign he’s progressing through the league’s concussion protocol and toward a return to game action.

Denver head coach Sean Payton said Surtain still has work to do to get cleared, but that his trajectory, “looks positive.”

After a full day of work, Surtain is tracking toward returning for Sunday’s home game against Carolina.

The All-Pro cover man was concussed on the first defensive play of Denver’s Week 6 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 13. He did not appear during the open portion of a Tuesday walkthrough last week before the team traveled to New Orleans and beat the Saints on Thursday night.

The extra time from Thursday’s game through the weekend gave Surtain time to move through the early phases of the protocol like meetings and conditioning work. Full practice work is the last step, though he must successfully pass through it without concussion-related symptoms in order to be officially cleared.

Trade deadline approaching. The NFL’s trading deadline arrives Nov. 5 and activity has already ramped up around the league, with a couple of high-profile wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams getting moved over the past week.

Payton said he’s in contact with general manager George Paton on a daily basis and, “he might come in (to my office) occasionally. He might walk in and say, ‘Hey, we got a call.'”

For now, though, most of the work being done is exploratory more than anything.

“It’s kind of like homecoming is 2.5 weeks away and everybody is putting out their feelers,” Payton said.

Injury picture. Broncos defensive lineman Malcolm Roach was not in attendance for Wednesday’s practice because of an illness.

Safety P.J. Locke played every snap against the Saints and was involved during the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to reporters but was listed as a limited participant due to a thumb injury. His status will be worth watching as the week progresses.

Right tackles Mike McGlinchey (knee) and Alex Palczewski (ankle) were listed as limited participants. McGlinchey played every snap against New Orleans in his return from injured reserve, while Palczewski has missed each of the past two games.

Running back Tyler Badie, who went on injured reserve after a scary-looking back injury Week 4 against the New York Jets, was on the side field Wednesday doing conditioning work.

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