Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, a sign he’s progressing through the league’s concussion protocol and toward a return to game action.

Denver head coach Sean Payton said Surtain still has work to do to get cleared, but that his trajectory, “looks positive.”

After a full day of work, Surtain is tracking toward returning for Sunday’s home game against Carolina.

The All-Pro cover man was concussed on the first defensive play of Denver’s Week 6 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 13. He did not appear during the open portion of a Tuesday walkthrough last week before the team traveled to New Orleans and beat the Saints on Thursday night.

The extra time from Thursday’s game through the weekend gave Surtain time to move through the early phases of the protocol like meetings and conditioning work. Full practice work is the last step, though he must successfully pass through it without concussion-related symptoms in order to be officially cleared.

Barton named defensive player of week >> Cody Barton’s big performance against New Orleans was six days ago now. It’s never too late to be celebrated, though.

The Broncos inside linebacker was named the AFC’s defensive player of the week for Week 7 after he dominated against the Saints last Thursday.

Barton, signed in March to a one-year deal as a free agent, returned a Spencer Rattler fumble 52 yards for a touchdown in Denver’s 33-10 win.

He also forced a fumble early in the game, logged eight tackles and a sack, and nearly had an interception against Rattler, too.

All that, and he nearly had another defensive touchdown except a fumble return for a score was wiped off the board by a D.J. Jones offsides penalty.

“It’s an honor getting that award,” Barton said Wednesday. “It makes me feel good, but it also makes me happy for my teammates. There’s a lot of plays I couldn’t have made — the touchdown at the end — if my teammates aren’t in the backfield making plays.”

It’s the first time in his six-year career that Barton has been named a conference defensive player of the week, but this has become something of a regular happening for the Broncos. It was just two weeks ago that Pat Surtain II was given the same honor for Week 5 after his two-interception game in the Broncos’ win over Las Vegas.

Place kicker Wil Lutz was named the AFC’s special teams player of the week in Week 3 and had a claim at the award this week, too, after he made all four of his field goal tries and all three extra points against the Saints.

It’s the first time the Broncos have had two weekly defensive winners in the same season since 2019 when Dre’Mont Jones and Kareem Jackson were both recognized.

Trade deadline approaching>> The NFL’s trading deadline arrives Nov. 5 and activity has already ramped up around the league, with a couple of high-profile wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams getting moved over the past week.

Payton said he’s in contact with general manager George Paton on a daily basis and, “he might come in (to my office) occasionally. He might walk in and say, ‘Hey, we got a call.’”

For now, though, most of the work being done is exploratory more than anything.

“It’s kind of like homecoming is 2.5 weeks away and everybody is putting out their feelers,” Payton said.

Injury picture>> Broncos defensive lineman Malcolm Roach was not in attendance for Wednesday’s practice because of an illness.

Safety P.J. Locke played every snap against the Saints and was involved during the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to reporters but was listed as a limited participant due to a thumb injury. His status will be worth watching as the week progresses.

Right tackles Mike McGlinchey (knee) and Alex Palczewski (ankle) were listed as limited participants. McGlinchey played every snap against New Orleans in his return from injured reserve, while Palczewski has missed each of the past two games.

Running back Tyler Badie, who went on injured reserve after a scary-looking back injury Week 4 against the Jets, was on the side field doing conditioning work.