ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos sent safety John Lynch and quarterback Jay Cutler for MRI exams on Monday. Lynch has a strained groin and Cutler a sprained ankle.
Lynch left in the first quarter of Sunday's 23-14 loss to Jacksonville and didn't return, leading coach Mike Shanahan to suggest the perennial Pro Bowl selection must really have been hurting.
Cutler sprained an ankle when he was sacked in the waning minutes by Reggie Hayward but stayed in the game for the rest of that series and the next one, which ended with him throwing an interception that sealed Denver's defeat.
"Everything's fine," said Cutler, who was confident he'll play Sunday at Indianapolis. "We've got a lot of time left. ... I think I'll be able to practice and get a full week in."
Although Lynch wasn't available Monday, his teammates said they didn't believe their defensive leader was seriously hurt.
"He looked OK," Champ Bailey said. "The thing is, that's John, though. You'll never know how bad he is. We'll see come Wednesday how he's feeling."
Also, special teams ace Paul Smith went for an MRI exam on his neck after he pinched a nerve in the game.
"I feel pretty good. I still have some numbness in my fingers," he said. "I had neck problems at the end of last year that kept me out of a couple of games. So hopefully it's not that all over again."
The Broncos expect to get defensive back Domonique Foxworth back from a sprained ankle this week but safety Hamza Abdullah (hip) is out for another few weeks and left guard Ben Hamilton has shown little or no improvement from a concussion he suffered early in camp, Shanahan said.
Shanahan was sporting a puffy left eye himself Monday.
"When it's fourth-and-5 on your 9-yard line with four minutes left, you don't make it and you go home, and your wife hits you, this is what happens," he said, slipping off his shades to reveal a bloodshot, swollen left eye as he started his news briefing with reporters.
"No, I'm allergic to cats, really. It swelled up last night," he said. "So, you guys don't give me abuse about wearing my sunglasses."
At the end of his news conference, Shanahan stood up and showed off his shiner again.
"Just so you guys don't think I'm just trying to be cool. That's a legitimate injury," he said. "Just touching a cat did it to me -- not a Jaguar!"
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
