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Broncos eye Henry, Green at back

Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 3, 2007 at midnight

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With Ahman Green set to leave the Broncos Saturday evening after a visit, the Broncos were rushing in Travis Henry as a candidate to be their primary running back.

Henry, who was due an $8.3 million roster bonus Monday, was released by the Tennessee Titans Saturday morning and was quickly put on a plane for Denver by Saturday afternoon.

Henry will spend much of Sunday at the team's Dove Valley complex.

The Broncos' offense would certainly suit a one-cut running back like Henry, who has run with power and toughness throughout his career.

Henry led the Titans in rushing last season, fighting his way past Chris Brown and rookie LenDale White to earn the starting job. He had 1,211 yards rushing in '06 with seven touchdowns and six 100-yard games.

For his career Henry has three 1,000-yard seasons, 5,395 career yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.

The only caveat is Henry did have a four-game suspension in the 2005 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, meaning he had tested positive at least once to enter the league's program and tested positive again to warrant the suspension.

The Broncos also traded quarterback Jake Plummer's rights to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a conditional pick in the 2008 draft. It means if Plummer, who has submitted his retirement papers to the league, decides to return to the NFL, he has to join the Buccaneers and will not be able to choose another team.

The Broncos had agreed with the Buccaneers on a deal for Plummer Friday — Denver was to get a fourth-round pick — but the deal was scuttled when Plummer turned in his retirement paperwork.

Denver also acquired soon-to-be 34-year-old defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson from Miami for a sixth-round pick in the 2007 draft. The Broncos had an extra sixth-rounder after their trade with Detroit for cornerback Dre' Bly.

Broncos assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates prefers bigger defensive tackles and Wilkinson, who was the first pick overall in the 1994 draft by the Bengals, fits the job description.

He is coming off a season when he had just 14 tackles in 10 games for the Dolphins.