DENVER -- The reason running back Maurice Clarett isn't with the Denver Broncos anymore is pretty simple.
"We have four guys I believe can play," coach Mike Shanahan said.
And Clarett never made his way into that mix.
The Broncos returned to practice Monday and Shanahan answered questions about why he decided to waive Clarett, the surprise third-round draft choice who was slowed by a groin injury and never made any impact in Denver's training camp.
That Clarett was a bust isn't a shock to most around the league. He was out of football for two years and performed badly at the NFL scouting combine -- and that's to say nothing of the troubles he endured off the field.
In Denver, the pick is being viewed as a bad example of hubris for Shanahan, "the Mastermind," who has turned lower picks -- like Terrell Davis, Rueben Droughns and Mike Anderson -- into stars and probably thought he could do the same, even with a prospect as checkered as Clarett.
To his credit, Shanahan didn't linger on this mistake, deciding to cut ties quickly instead of forcing something to work. And the coach conceded he did err by picking the star of Ohio State's 2002 national championship.
"I think any time you cut somebody in the third round, you feel like you made a mistake," Shanahan said. "When you do that, you make a mistake and you go on. At least you evaluate it. That's not to say that Maurice doesn't have a chance to go to another football team and make that team and contribute. But in a true evaluation of your own organization, when you use a third-round draft choice and he does not make your team, obviously it's not good."
The Broncos had not officially announced their cuts as of Monday afternoon. When Clarett does officially land on waivers, teams will have 24 hours to claim him and the incentive-laden contract he signed with Denver.
More likely is that Clarett will become a free agent, free to negotiate a new deal with anyone.
"I'm not real confident of anything at this point," Clarett's agent, Steve Feldman said Sunday. "We'll see what happens now."
Clarett missed about two weeks of practice with a nagging groin injury that prevented him from making the trip to Houston, where the Broncos practiced three days and played the Texans in their preseason opener.
When the Broncos returned from the trip, Shanahan was no longer in the mood to defend the player he took a chance on, saying instead that he couldn't evaluate Clarett if he wasn't at practice.
Last week, Shanahan said he planned on getting Clarett some playing time Friday in Denver's preseason finale against Arizona. But when Quentin Griffin made his preseason debut last Saturday against the Colts and showed his surgically repaired knee was healthy, the Broncos knew they had their foursome at tailback: Griffin, Ron Dayne, Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson.
Meanwhile, Cecil Sapp can play tailback and fullback and will likely earn a roster spot.
"I felt so good about the running backs and what they've done," Shanahan said. "I wasn't going to give him playing time and take away from our other four."
Second-round draft pick Darrent Williams said Clarett got down about his lack of reps during practices.
"I tried to give him encouragement. At times he was down because he was used to starting," Williams said.
Hardly anyone thought he had a chance to start for the Broncos. That he never played a down, not even in the preseason, came as a surprise.
"We've made mistakes before," Shanahan said. "We'll make mistakes in the future. Just because we draft somebody in the third round doesn't mean they're automatically going to be on our football team. We've cut our first-rounders, second-rounders before. You don't feel very good about those scenarios, but they do happen."
