The Denver Broncos have moved to add depth to their defense by snapping up free agent linebacker Wesly Mallard and re-signing defensive end Kenny Peterson on Sunday.

Willie DeWayne Clark's attorney indicated that her client is a suspect in the slaying of Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams, and she needs help representing him. Alaurice Tafoya-Modi filed a motion Friday asking for co-counsel assistance because the case is "extremely difficult." But U.S. District Court Judge Boyd N. Boland denied it Monday, calling the request premature. Denver police sources have said that Clark was inside the white Chevrolet Tahoe from which the shots were fired that killed Williams in a New Year's Day drive-by. But Denver police officials have only said Clark is a "person of interest" in the Williams case and have never publicly named him as a suspect in the homicide.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has consistently said he agrees with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's get-tough approach on the conduct of players. Shanahan and the Broncos now have felt their first sting of that policy with a two-game suspension handed down by the league to safety Sam Brandon. Brandon will appeal the suspension, but if it is upheld, he would miss the first two games of the upcoming regular season. Shanahan could not be reached for comment. Brandon, the first Broncos player suspended under Goodell's ramped-up conduct policy, is the second Broncos player this month to have been suspended for at least part of the 2007 season.

After learning as a rookie, Jay Cutler enters the 2007 season firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback for a team expected to contend for a Super Bowl berth. Cutler received his baptism by fire in his rookie campaign last season when he went 2-3 as the starter after replacing veteran Jake Plummer in early December. "He is undefeated this year," two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Shanahan said. "He has done a really good job so far and he has worked extremely hard since April and hopefully he could keep it going. Hopefully the learning curve keeps going and he plays well."

Rod Smith is letting his surgically repaired hip tell him when he's ready to return to the field. Right now, it's saying it's not even close. The 37-year-old receiver, who had an operation on the hip in February, sat out the Broncos' two-day minicamp. He's yet to run post-surgery except briefly in a pool.

Brandon Stokley felt like a rookie again. The ninth-year pro returned to the field for the Broncos' minicamp on Monday and did individual work to test his right Achilles' tendon, which he ruptured last November, leading to his offseason release from the Indianapolis Colts. "This is kind of the first little baby step toward getting ready for training camp," said Stokley, who hopes to be practicing in pads by the time the team starts up July 29.

Broncos DE Kenny Peterson will miss the first four games of the season and be suspended without pay for violating the NFL's steroid policy. The Broncos released an NFL statement Friday saying Peterson will be suspended without pay starting Aug. 31. The statement said Peterson had violated the policy on anabolic steroids and related substances but didn't specify what he had done.

A man police consider a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was transferred to federal custody Thursday after completion of his state sentence on a parole violation. Willie Clark, 25, was sentenced in February to 180 days in prison after authorities said Clark had been living in a different house than the one listed in his parole agreement. Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kathrine Sanguinetti said records indicated he was released Thursday on parole, but later learned he had been transferred to federal custody. Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said he could not comment. Denver police spokesman John White said the arrest was unrelated to the homicide investigation. Clark has been in custody since Jan. 5, days after Williams, 24, was shot in the neck and two other people were wounded as they were riding away from a New Year's Eve party at a Denver nightclub in a stretch Hummer limousine.