With Tom Nalen's move to injured reserve and likely his post-NFL career, Hamilton has emerged as the Broncos' longest-tenured player.

The 2001 fourth-round draft pick typically might not notice his newfound status. But when the team's starting left guard sees the players around him skewing younger and younger, it's a constant reminder of just how long he has stuck around.

"It's definitely a different feel, being around eight years," said Hamilton, 31.

Good thing 35- year-old Casey Wiegmann is around to help deflect any talk about the elderly.

But Hamilton remains a target anyway. His role running the board for offensive line fines ensures a heavy dose of flak. Whereas Nalen was, according to offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, "the hammer" in such matters, Hamilton adds the role of instigator to his secretarial duties. Clap at practice, you're going to pay. Self-promotion, get out your wallet.

"He needs to be overthrown," right tackle Ryan Harris lamented. "But there's no one strong enough to commit that mutiny."

Hamilton is a hard man to get rid of, generally.

If a yearlong absence because of severe post-concussion symptoms couldn't do it, a few 290-plus linemen with a hesitancy to pull out their wallets won't have any luck, either.

Hamilton will start his 12th straight game for the Broncos (6-5) on Sunday as they face the New York Jets (8-3) in the Meadowlands. It's the sixth time in his career he'll have started at least a dozen games in a season.

Hamilton's presence in the lineup is expected now.

But after the dizzy spells, severe mood swings and memory-related issues associated with his injuries last season, there were no guarantees he'd play again. He began to feel like his old self late last year, though, and after consulting with specialists, he was cleared to resume playing.

"There probably was a certain amount of unknown," Dennison said. "But when I talked to him and he said he'd come back, then I had every confidence he'd be back."

Still, Hamilton needed to prove to himself he could withstand the constant contact in the trenches. He felt "pretty confident" in minicamps, since the cobwebs were gone and he no longer was, as he described the feeling, "out of it." Summer workouts only confirmed he could play unencumbered by doubt.

"Going through training camp, I took some big hits and delivered some big hits," he said. "And just going through that just gave me confidence that, 'I'm back.' "

Hamilton often visited teammates last season in an attempt to stay around the game. It wasn't the same as lining up alongside them, and some guilt seeped in about his unavailability as he spent the season on injured reserve.

"I couldn't help it," he said of his concussion issues. "But I knew they were counting on me. And to see them struggle a little bit last year, I just knew I should be out there."

Hamilton's return provides another trained set of eyes in diagnosing on-field issues.

"He's great with the playbook," right guard Chris Kuper said. "He knows it in and out. As far as the field, he picks things up really fast and can explain it to us."

Dennison also credited Hamilton for playing a role in rookie left tackle Ryan Clady's fast development, given their proximity on the line and the veteran player's deep knowledge of the system.

"He kind of keeps him on the same page - not that Ryan needs that much help, but he is a rookie," Dennison said.

To date, there have been no issues with Hamilton's previous brain injury.

"Just like his old self," coach Mike Shanahan said.

That includes his personality. Hamilton's lighthearted demeanor was a welcome re-addition to the meeting room. He has a knack for keeping things light when the grind of the season starts to wear on players. His dry sense of humor is reflected in his dual role of fines goon.

"He is a little unjust," Harris said. "But I guess that's how you get when you've, what, been in the league 25 years and two brains later? But it's all in fun."

Hamilton actually hasn't even quite reached a decade in the NFL yet.

A center at the University of Minnesota, he said he never seriously considered his career life span when he entered the league. At one point, Hamilton was projected as Nalen's replacement in the pivot. That dream since has passed, but as a 290-pound guard, Hamilton knows Denver has "been the right fit for me."

"He understands leverage. He understands the system. He knows where he's got help and where he can't lose. And he plays with balance," Dennison said, likely incurring a fine himself for gushing publicly about a player he has supervised since the player's NFL start. "He's got all the assets we look for."

One area in which Hamilton might be lacking recently, though, is in the grooming department.

Sporting a long mane and a patchy beard, Hamilton has retained the dark coloring that belies his experience. But it isn't going over well with some of his teammates, who are demanding payback.

"I can't believe it," Harris said, expressing mock exasperation. "He should be fined every day he's got that haircut."