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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --For the first time since Week 1, Peyton Manning took part in a Wednesday practice as the Broncos continued their preparations for Sunday night's showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

Manning took approximately half of the repetitions in Wednesday's practice, Head Coach Gary Kubiak said.

From Week 3 onward, the team had held Manning out of the Wednesday sessions, opting to rest the 18-year veteran quarterback. He was on hand for each of the practices and wore a helmet, but was listed as "Did Not Practice - Not Injury Related" for those sessions.

But in the wake of the Week 7 bye, Head Coach Gary Kubiak felt that Manning received enough of a respite to get some Wednesday on-field work this week.

"We've had a lot of time on our hands [during the bye]," Kubiak said. "We'll go ahead and go full this week, and then get back in our routine next week."

As was the case for Monday's practice, OLB Shane Ray (MCL sprain in his right knee) was the only Bronco not on the field when Wednesday's practice began.

LT Ty Sambrailo (shoulder), LG Evan Mathis (hamstring), OLB DeMarcus Ware (back), CB Aqib Talib (ankle) and WR Emmanuel Sanders (shoulder) all practiced on a limited basis.

Of that list, Sambrailo has missed the most time, sitting out three games since being injured in the second half at Detroit on Sept. 27. Kubiak has eased him back into work over the last two weeks, but Thursday's practice "will be the big test for him," he said.

"It'll be full speed [Thursday]. We'll be in pads and he'll get his one-on-one [work]," Kubiak added. "So it's a big test for him [Thursday] if he's going to be able to go back and go. So we'll see where we're at [Thursday]."

Kubiak and the Broncos also welcomed a special visitor: former starting quarterback Jake Plummer. Plummer and Kubiak chatted as practice began.

Plummer had the best seasons of his career working under Kubiak, whose 11-season tenure (1995-2005) as Broncos offensive coordinator overlapped with three of Plummer's four Broncos seasons.

During 2003-06, Plummer went 40-18 as the Broncos' starting quarterback, including 33-14 with Kubiak as his coordinator, and his quarterback rating with Kubiak was 19.1 points higher than it was in the rest of his career.

"He's 'The Snake.' He still looks like 'The Snake,' huh? He needs to put some weight on," Kubiak said, smiling. "But it's good to see him. He's a hell of a player, and a great friend.

"I'll tell you what, there wasn't a better teammate I ever saw in my career -- how he was to his teammates, and how he played, and how hard he played. He did a great job for me, I know that."

Emergency Room Care/ Denver ERs

HealthONE has 12 full-service emergency departments -- seven at our hospitals and five free-standing ERs. These include a Level I Trauma Center (adult and pediatric) at Swedish Medical Center; Level II Trauma Center at The Medical Center of Aurora; and Level III Trauma Center at Sky Ridge Medical Center. AIRLIFE-DENVER is our air medical transport serving facilities in an eight-state region.

The Medical Center of Aurora
Saddle Rock ER
Centennial Medical Plaza
North Suburban Medical Center
North Suburban Northeast ER
North Suburban Northwest ER
Presbyterian/ St. Luke's Medical Center
Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at P/SL
Rose Medical Center
Sky Ridge Medical Center
Swedish Medical Center
Swedish Southwest ER

The HealthONE System of Hospitals now offers you and your family convenient ways to find the closest HealthONE ER and average wait times. HealthONE's Fast LocatER is our mobile suite of tools that you can take with you on the go.

Text "ER" to 23000

Our 24/7 Emergency Rooms for adult and pediatric patients are prepared to serve your medical emergencies. Get our average ER Wait Times by texting "ER" to 23000. Standard message and data rates may apply.

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Prefer to call? Just dial 720-523-3888 and enter your zip code, and you will receive our closest HealthONE ERs.