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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Thursday he will likely hold injured safeties T.J. Ward and Darian Stewart out of practice this week but that he remained optimistic both would participate in practices next week and be in uniform Feb. 7 for Super Bowl 50. Ward left the Broncos' 20-18 victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game with a left ankle injury, and Stewart left the game with a right knee injury. Both were held out of Thursday's practice, the team's first since the win over the Patriots. "I'm encouraged they're both going to be there in a couple weeks; that doesn't mean I'm right," Kubiak said following the workout. "I think T.J.'s probably ahead of [Stewart] right now. But we'll probably be smart with them this week and put them back to work next week. But I feel good about it." Ward missed three games this season, as he suffered the original injury in the Broncos' Nov. 29 win over the Patriots and aggravated it in Sunday's win over the Patriots. The Broncos will practice Friday and Saturday at their suburban Denver complex before traveling Sunday. Kubiak has put the Broncos on their regular-season schedule for each of those days and he said he would like to have the majority of preparations done before the team arrives in the San Francisco area. "We're trying to approach the game like we're playing this weekend," Kubiak said. "When we get on the plane Sunday we want to feel like we're pretty close to being ready to play." The Broncos are healthy overall. Guards Louis Vasquez (knee) and Evan Mathis (ankle) were the only other players who were even limited in Thursday's practice. Kubiak said quarterback Peyton Manning will not be limited in any way in the preparations for the Super Bowl. "He's fine, yeah he's good because we had a good break, a three-day break coming out of the game," Kubiak said. "Going to go with our three-day routine here this week we normally go with and he'll get another break before we get back to work out in San Francisco."
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