Broncos cornerback says he was paralyzed

Broncos cornerback De’Vante Bausby says he was paralyzed for half an hour Sunday after wrenching his neck in the second quarter of Denver’s 2013 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

“After 30 minutes I could wiggle my toes. After two hours, I could move everything else,” Bausby said Tuesday, his neck brace sitting next to his locker.

Bausby collided with linebacker Alexander Johnson while tackling running back Austin Ekeler and crumpled to the grass. He said he never lost consciousness as he was strapped to a backboard, taken off the field on a cart and transported to a Los Angeles trauma center where he was diagnosed with a cervical sprain.

Bausby said he never panicked that he’d be permanently paralyzed because his neurologist reassured him that he’d regain movement.

“I was just calm and I just trusted what our doc was saying,” said Bausby, who was able to walk out of the hospital and rejoin his teammates following their win.

“I was ready to get up out of Los Angeles,” Bausby said. “I was happy to rejoin my team on a plane ride back here.”

Coach Vic Fangio said Bausby won’t need any medical procedures but is out indefinitely as the team’s medical staff monitors his recovery. Darnold cleared to play: Sam Darnold’s spleen is fully healthy and he’ll be back under center as the struggling Jets’ starting quarterback. Darnold was cleared by doctors to play Sunday against Dallas after he missed three games while recovering from mononucleosis. Briefly: The Falcons placed safety Johnathan Cyprien on injured reserve with a foot injury. Atlanta acquired Cyprien from Philadelphia on Sept. 30 in a trade for linebacker Duke Riley, but Cyprien played in only one game with Atlanta, last week’s 5332 loss at Houston . ... Giants running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) does not know whether he will play against the Patriots on Sunday. He has missed two games.