If there’s one thing that has been constant in Kevin Vickerson’s first five years in the NFL, it’s that he knows never to get comfortable.

Vickerson has spent a year on the injured reserve, a year on the bench and a year in Germany. He’s been cut and traded — both within the span of six months — only to find himself, finally, in the right place at the right time in the right situation, in Denver.

Vickerson has started the last two games at defensive end, and despite not joining the team until Sept. 7, after he was released by Seattle, he has become an integral part of the Broncos’ six-man defensive line rotation.

“It takes a lot of roads and paths to get where you want to go,” Vickerson said. “You’re going to be faced with adversity sometime in your life. Either you’re going to stay in the hole, or you’re going to find a way to get out. That’s really what happened for me.”

Vickerson encountered several hurdles early in his career that many players never get over. As a seventh-round draft pick out of Michigan State in 2005, Vickerson’s rookie year in Miami ended before it started, with a knee injury in the final preseason game. He made the Dolphins’ active roster the following year but never saw the field. In 2007, the Dolphins sent him to NFL Europe to play for the Cologne Centurions.

“It was humbling,” Vickerson said.

Yet playing overseas taught Vickerson a lesson, he said. He was signed by the Titans when he returned, and had his best season last year, with 28 tackles in 13 appearances.

“You’ve got to make the best out of a bad situation. You can’t be in the tank because it’ll show in your play,” he said. “A lot of guys come in this league, and some people have opportunities and some people really have to work for their opportunities.”

That right defensive end spot in Denver was supposed to belong to Jarvis Green. He was the big-name and big-money free agent the Broncos signed in March. But when he couldn’t unseat Ryan McBean during training camp, Green was among the first players cut, despite being owed $3.255 million in guaranteed money.

Enter Vickerson, who, at 6-foot-5, 321 pounds, fit the physical profile the Broncos were looking for in their revamped defensive front.

Vickerson had been on the Broncos’ radar earlier in the offseason, but any preliminary contract talks stopped when Vickerson received a restricted free-agent tender from the Tennessee Titans. Vickerson was then part of a draft-day trade in April that sent him and running back LenDale White from Tennessee to Seattle. Vickerson said he spent the summer in Seattle expecting to be a starter at defensive tackle for the Seahawks.

The Broncos, then, were just as surprised as Vickerson when the Seahawks cut him loose. Within 24 hours, Vickerson was a Bronco.

“We snatched him up in two seconds, because you don’t usually release guys like that,” defensive end Justin Bannan said.

The full-time 3-4 defense has been new for Vickerson, who mostly played as a tackle in the 4-3 scheme in Tennessee. But Broncos coaches liked what Vickerson did as a backup in the first couple of games to promote him to the starting lineup two weeks ago against his old team, the Titans. He earned a game ball from the coaching staff after that first start, and already has 15 total tackles.

“I know he’s been through a few different changes in his career early here now, but I think that our guys have really kind of welcomed him here with open arms,” coach Josh McDaniels said. “We came into this thing with an open mind on what we were going to get out of Kevin, and he’s given us nothing but great effort and a great attitude and a great approach.”

Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com

European working vacation

Kevin Vickerson’s path to becoming an NFL starter hasn’t been easy, including a season-long stint in 2007 with the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe. Vickerson earned first-team All-Europa defensive honors that year. He isn’t the only player, though, to have his career get a jump start in the now-defunct overseas league.

OTHERS:

Kurt Warner: As the quarterback of the Amsterdam Admirals, Warner led the European league in passing in 1998 with 2,101 yards. A year later, he led the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl title.

Dante Hall: Before he was making Pro Bowls for the Kansas City Chiefs, Hall was catching passes in 2001 for NFL Europe’s franchise in Scotland.

Shaun Hill: Now a suitable backup quarterback in Detroit (and a former starter in San Francisco), Hill led NFL Europe in passing in 2003 with 2,256 yards.

Adam Vinatieri: One of the most clutch playoff kickers of all time got his start kicking in Amsterdam in 1996.

Brian Waters: The Kansas City offensive guard won the NFL’s Man of the Year Award in 2009, but he got his break playing in Berlin in 2000.

Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post