As colleague and friend Brad James informed us today, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was given Wednesday off of work as part of his new in-season routine, but Aqib Talib was an unhealthy scratch from today’s practice.

Per head coach Gary Kubiak:

“Aqib is sick. We sent him home. That’s where we’re at today,” Kubiak told media on Wednesday. “We’ve had a few guys with it. It’s kind of bounced around the last couple weeks. [He] came in this morning and was feeling really bad and tried to go to meetings and stuff, so we sent him to the doctor and sent him home, but we expect him back tomorrow.”

Here’s the full injury report for both teams, courtesy of the Denver Broncos PR department.

While Manning was an excused absence and Talib went home sick, Kayvon Webster was the only Broncos player who didn’t participate today due to a football related injury. Webster is nursing an ankle injury, per Kubiak.

Great news for Anunike

Kenny Anunike, another ferocious pass rusher, is returning to the field and hopefully will see at least 20 snaps or so this weekend against the Lions. Detroit’s offensive line (save for maybe Manny Ramirez) has no clue what kind of beast this guy is and the Broncos will unleash their secret weapon for the first time this year.

Lerentee McCray

Also back on a full-time basis is pass rusher Lerentee McCray, who was kept on the 53-man roster after not seeing any action in training camp or the preseason. It was interesting to see him on the final 53 based on what limited involvement he had and the addition of Shane Ray along with the emergence of Shaquil Barrett, but here we are.

Lions update

We’ll need full updates but DeAndre Levy not practicing is a big deal for Detroit. He’s their best defensive player.