Broncos vs. Dolphins injury report: Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders sit Wednesday

With wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders missing practice as he recovers from a concussion, the door may finally be open for rookie Cody Latimer to break Peyton Manning's lineup.

"I think he certainly has taken advantage of his time out here at practice and we ask a lot of questions of the guys that aren't necessarily playing or even the practice squad, and try to keep those guys mentally involved ," said Manning. I think [Wide Receiver Coach] Tyke [Tolbert] does a good job of keeping those guys on their toes and, yeah, I think Cody has done a good job studying and I know he certainly wants to be there. He’s a competitive guy and I think he’s improved throughout the season. I certainly think if his name and number was called, I think he’d go in there and answer the bell for us."

To this point, Latimer's absence has been a matter of the numbers game, said Coach John Fox.

"He’s got some pretty good guys in front of him," said Fox. "I think he’s been active, I’m going to say four games. I think I’m correct in saying that. We weren’t able to activate him last week because of some injuries at other spots. We’ll see what this week brings. But he just needs the opportunity. He’s got his first NFL catch, I think a couple weeks ago. It’s no fault of his. He’s working hard, just like everybody out there. It’s just a numbers game."

Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins

BOLD-Indicates change in status

STATUS DEFINITIONS: 
Out - player definitely will not play
Doubtful - at least 75% chance player will not play
Questionable - 50-50 chance player will not play
Probable - virtual certainty player will be available for normal duty