ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Defensive end Derek Wolfe was among six Broncos who did not practice Wednesday, and the Broncos will exercise extreme caution as they evaluate him in his recovery from a neck sprain that sent him to the sideline early in last Sunday's loss at Oakland.

"You want to be smart," Head Coach Vance Joseph said. "Obviously his overall health is more important than our next five games, so we want to make sure he's ready to play before he gets back on the field.

"It's a neck injury, so that can be scary without knowing everything about it."

Quarterback Paxton Lynch (ankle), nose tackle Domata Peko Sr. (knee), wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (ankle), guard Ron Leary (back) and defensive end Shelby Harris (illness) also did not practice.

Four players were limited: tight end Jeff Heuerman (knee), inside linebacker Todd Davis (shoulder/ankle), defensive end Adam Gotsis (ankle/shoulder) and outside linebacker Shane Ray (wrist/illness).

A flu bug is going around, Joseph said, and "about four or five guys" are sick, although some were able to practice.

With Wolfe, Peko and Harris all sidelined, outside linebacker DeMarcus Walker moved back to defensive line for Wednesday's work.

"We only had three guys today healthy enough to practice, so he just helped us there, but he's always going to be a swing guy for us," Joseph said. "So, absolutely, if we need him on game day, he would have to swing inside for us."