The Denver Broncos appear to be relatively healthy through two days of practice in preparation for their season opener against Pittsburgh Sunday night.
The Steelers, on the other hand, are going in the other direction.
Broncos OG Chris Kuper, out with a broken forearm likely for the first three games of the season, is an expected absence. Meanwhile, the Steelers had two players -- LB James Harrison (knee) and RB Baron Batch (groin) -- leave practice Wednesday. Neither returned Thursday, and their status for the game is up in the air.
Any potential loss of Harrison could be expected. He missed all of the preseason after a knee injury brought on arthroscopic surgery in mid-August. Batch's injury is fairly new, and didn't prevent him from playing in the preseason at all.
The Steelers are already thin at the linebacker position, having lost Stevenson Sylvester (knee) and Sean Spence (leg) in the preseason. Spence was placed on injured-reserve, and Sylvester will not be cleared to play in Week 1.
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