It would have been hard to ask for anything more from the Denver Broncos’ offense last Sunday night, but that doesn’t mean it’s all good news at Dove Valley.
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/661278035480440832
The Broncos have been playing without Ty Sambrailo for the last few weeks, and given how much the line has improved over that time, there were no assurances that he’d retake his role as the starter anyways. Still, it’s a bummer for a rookie who clearly gave the Broncos everything he had despite the fact that he was in a tough situation from the very start.
Whatever you thought about Sambrailo coming out of CSU, nobody, including the Broncos, expected him to be starting at left tackle come Week 1. But once Ryan Clady went down for the season, they made the decision to give the job to the young guy, and he produced.
For me, though, what’s most impressive about Sambrailo is how he actually finished the Lions game despite the injury that has now ended his season. I’m not a doctor, but if his shoulder was serious enough to land him on season-ending injured reserve, it probably was serious enough to warrant him coming out of the game in Detroit, too. But he stayed in, and he proved to all Broncos fans that he’s a guy we can count on to go the extra mile.
It’ll be interesting to see how this ends up playing out long term. Again, the Broncos line has seemingly begun to gel these last few weeks while Sambrailo has been on the bench, but was that because they’re better off without him or because the group just needed time to get comfortable in the new offense?
Only time will tell.
Injury or not, Sambrailo is still very much a part of the Broncos’ future, whether he’s at left tackle, right tackle or maybe even guard.
