Punter Todd Sauerbrun wants to make the most of his second stint with the Denver Broncos.

"I want to make amends," Sauerbrun said Friday after signing a one-year, $1.4 million contract to return to the team that jettisoned him in October.

Sauerbrun, a 13-year veteran from West Virginia whose use of a banned dietary supplement cost him a four-game suspension and his job, had a long talk with coach Mike Shanahan upon his return.

Shanahan told him: "Just stay clean, just stay out of trouble," Sauerbrun said.

"I'd done it for a while," said Sauerbrun, who punted for the New England Patriots in the playoffs last season. "He has faith in me. I don't want to let him down. I don't want to let the team down. To hell with myself. I don't want to let the guys down."

Sauerbrun's deal with Denver was worth more than the $1.395 million he was scheduled to make with the Broncos last year, when he lost his job to Paul Ernster while serving his suspension for using ephedra in a misguided attempt to lose weight and gain gusto for his workouts.

"Just immature, stupid, it was dumb," Sauerbrun said. "You learn. If you don't learn from this you don't have many opportunities to learn from. You either learn or you're going to be done. It's simple."

Coming off a great 2005 season in Denver, Sauerbrun, who also kicks off, said he knowingly took an over-the-counter weight loss product last summer that he strongly suspected contained ephedra. The substance was banned by the NFL after the death of Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer during training camp in 2001.

Bears

In case the Bears were wondering, they found out where their franchise player stands in the contract dispute with Lance Briggs. Not surprisingly, it isn't behind the franchise.

During a radio interview on Dan Patrick's show, Brian Urlacher threw his support behind Briggs, who has threatened a holdout if the Bears don't rescind the franchise tag and its $7.2 million salary or trade him.

"I'm on Lance's side," Urlacher told Patrick. "I think he needs to be rewarded for what he did on the field."

Regarding Tank Johnson, Urlacher said he and several teammates have visited Johnson in jail a couple of times to cheer him up. "It's not fun," Urlacher said. "I just tell him we can't wait for him to get out and we miss him."

Chiefs

Trent Green is so eager to join the Miami Dolphins that the quarterback's representatives have asked Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson to expedite a trade, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Peterson told the Kansas City Star this week that Green was worth a second- and seventh-round draft choice. But Peterson has little leverage in trade demands. Green can force his release by refusing to restructure a contract that calls for a base salary of $7.2 million