Broncos bring back Peterson a day after releasing him

DENVER (AP) -The Denver Broncos re-signed defensive lineman Kenny Peterson on Sunday, a day after releasing him, because defensive end Carlos Hall failed to report to camp.

"I had told Kenny that we wanted to evaluate everybody that would be on the squad. But that if we lost anybody I wanted to bring him back because I liked Kenny," coach Mike Shanahan said. "We had to evaluate a lot of these defensive linemen, but when Carlos said he was not going to play football, I called Kenny right away and got him back on."

Peterson is facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on steroids and related substances. He's among a dozen linemen hoping to land a roster spot in new defensive coordinator Jim Bates' system. Peterson played for Bates in Green Bay in 2005.

The Broncos also signed linebacker Wesly Mallard on Sunday, placed Hall on its reserve/did not report list and waived linebacker Eddie Moore after he failed his physical. Moore, who needs another arthroscopic knee surgery, will revert to the Broncos' injured reserve list should he clear waivers.

Mallard has spent five years in the NFL with Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Giants, who selected him in the 2002 draft out of the University of Oregon. He's recorded 46 career tackles on special teams.

Last year, he played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers and registered a dozen special teams tackles and recovered one fumble.