Baltimore’s Ivy Has Kidney Tear

Hours after a game, when the adrenaline has waned and the injuries have cooled, the effect of three hours or so of NFL mayhem makes itself apparent on the athletes who have spent that time in bone-jarring collisions.

“When you’re coming back from a road trip on the plane, you have 53 players spread out, all in varying degrees of discomfort and pain,” Baltimore Coach Brian Billick said Tuesday.

But as the Ravens made their way home after a 13-3 loss to the Broncos in Denver Monday night, cornerback Corey Ivy’s discomfort went beyond the threshold of what is tolerable.

Team physician Andy Tucker then had the Delta charter flight diverted to Pittsburgh.

“The doctor immediately had enough of a concern, and erring on the side of caution, suggested we get Corey on the ground as soon as possible,” Billick said.

Ivy, suffering from a kidney tear, was taken from the plane by medical personnel just after 4 a.m. Tuesday and whisked to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital.

He was in stable condition and resting comfortably, Billick said.

Ivy was apparently injured on a special teams tackle early in the third quarter.

“First and foremost, he’s OK, he’s out of any real critical danger,” Billick said.

“But they have to go through a series of tests to find out exactly the extent of what they need to do and what that will do in terms of a time frame for him.”

Ivy was hurt on a Ravens punt about 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.

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The Denver Broncos cut veteran punter Todd Sauerbrun, the day he was supposed to come back from a four-game suspension for using the banned dietary supplement ephedra.

Money probably played a factor in the Broncos’ decision to keep Paul Ernster over Sauerbrun. Sauerbrun, who wasn’t allowed to be around the team during the suspension, was scheduled to make $1.395 million this season, but lost $328,000 because of the suspension.

Ernster has two years left on his salary at the league minimum. He’s making $275,000 this season.

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A third day of tests found no broken bones in the right foot or ankle of New York Giants Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was hobbled during last Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins.... The Minnesota Vikings signed receiver Bethel Johnson and cut quarterback Drew Henson from the practice squad.

Running back Lee Suggs was waived by the Miami Dolphins.... The Buffalo Bills released tight end C.J. Leak, the older brother of current Florida quarterback Chris Leak.... The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a contract with free-agent cornerback Ahmad Carroll, who was released last week by the Green Bay Packers.