Joe Mays' suspension is not what the Broncos need with Oakland's Darren McFadden looming.(Andrew Mason)

As if the Broncos' linebacking corps weren't banged up enough, they'll have to do without Joe Mays after he was suspended for one game for violation of the league's player safety rules.

Mays will also be fined $50,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Houston quarterback Matt Schaub during the second quarter of a 31-25 loss. He is expected to appeal the ruling; if he does, the appeal would have to be filed within the next three days, and a ruling would be made by one of two former NFL coaches (Art Shell and Ted Cottrell) before the game

Mays admitted after Sunday's game that he was expecting a fine for the hit, which claimed part of Schaub's ear.

"He kind of ducked his head toward the end and it ended up being a helmet-to-helmet, so there's nothing I can do about it, I can't take it back," Mays said. "I guess it's on to the next game."

It's a "next game" that likely won't come for another week.

The decision places the Broncos' linebacking corps in a state of flux. The most likely course of action is to move weakside LB Keith Brooking to the middle, which they did for the handful of plays in which Mays got a breather the last two weeks. Wesley Woodyard, who was the base-package weakside LB in Week 1 before losing that job to Brooking, would likely return to his season-opening role, in which he played on all downs.

Woodyard has played alongside Mays as one of two linebackers in the Broncos' frequently used nickel package in the last two weeks.

Denver's remaining linebacker depth is limited: backups Nate Irving, Steven Johnson and Danny Trevathan have no regular-season starts among them, and Irving is recovering from a concussion suffered while covering a punt Sunday.

The timing of the suspension is also poor given that the Broncos face Oakland on Sunday. Raiders RB Darren McFadden has shredded the Broncos in recent years, averaging 127.0 yards per game and 7.3 yards per carry in his last four games against them. The Broncos' only win over the Raiders since December 2009 came last November, when McFadden was out with a Lisfranc injury that would eventually necessitate surgery.

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