Justin Bannan Returns For Duty On Broncos Defensive Line

Denver Broncos nose tackle Justin Bannan is happy it’s 2012 and not 2010.

“The camp in 2010 I though was probably the hardest camp I ever had,” Bannan said following Monday’s practice. “It was two-a-day, every day, full pads, with conditioning afterwards with your pads on…This camp, because of the new CBA, isn’t quite as physically demanding, and as an older player, I think it’s smart.”

Bannan returned to the practice field Monday after a calf injury forced him to sit out or limit him in many practices. Bannan hurt his calf while doing wind sprints two week prior to the start of training camp. He heard a pop in his calf on his last sprint.

“I’ve just got to ease back into it, get the leg used to firing off the ball and all those kinds of things,” Bannan said.

The Broncos wasted no time getting Bannan back into things once he was deemed ready. They inserted him back into the starting lineup on Monday because Ty Warren did not participate for personal reasons.

The problem with the injury was Bannan had trouble coming out of his stance. He tried to push himself through the pain, but his body had other plans. That’s why he had to miss the majority of camp.

“It was a tricky situation,” Bannan said. “When I came to camp, I felt like I was fine. The actual place where I injured it, I didn’t have any pain or anything. I went up and practiced with it. I felt like I could go, but other muscles were pulling because it wasn’t ready.”

This is Bannan’s second stint in Denver. He played for the team in 2010 and had 35 tackles and 1 sack. He followed Josh McDaniels to St. Louis last season where he tallied 32 tackles.

This is Bannan’s 11th year in the league after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2002. Bannan played college football at the University of Colorado.

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