News & Info/Headlines

Although he was held out of full contact drills, Clinton Portis practiced Thursday and remains on track to start and play as usual Monday night. In fact, head coach Mike Shanahan told reporters he expects the second-year halfback to be at full speed by kickoff.

Portis agreed, telling reporters after the session ended: "I am feeling better. It took a couple of days, but the soreness has gone away. There is still a little discomfort, but I think by Monday I will be back to normal. I think if I have my normal pads on I will be alright."

I'll continue to monitor the status of both Portis and Jake Plummer -- who also practiced Thursday -- and update you as necessary throughout the weekend. ...

And speaking of Plummer. ...

Asked after Thursday's workout how "The Snake" has looked in practice this week, Rod Smith replied: "He is doing well. Just seeing him out there in action doing everything that we did yesterday was a surprise to me and I was very happy to see it. He did everything that we asked him to do and actually did more than I thought he was going to. It was good to see. Steve [Beuerlein] probably took a few more reps than normal but at the same time we need him to take those so we can get our timing together if he is the guy."

Also of interest. ...

According to Pro Football Weekly, insiders expect rookie halfback Quentin Griffin to be a factor upon his return from a hairline fracture in his leg, suffered on the first day of training camp. He won’t take many carries away from Portis, but he should make an impact in the passing game, as the Broncos plan to split him outside and use swing passes to get him the ball in space.

And finally. ...

As reported by Associated Press sports writer John Marshall, Shanahan was cleared of any wrongdoing Thursday after explaining to league officials why he lied about Plummer's injury during last weekend's game.

"The key is we're on the same page and moving forward, so the matter that occurred last Sunday is closed," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "We're satisfied that it is resolved and that Mike understands the policy."

Shanahan said he would protect his team if a similar situation came up again, but he would be a little more subtle about it.

"(I'll say) we're not really sure the extent of the injury and we're going to wait and see, just kind of handle it without talking about something else specifically," he said. "I did it more as of a joke afterward, but it kind of turned into a firestorm. It's not the first time I've gotten myself in trouble."