The Denver Broncos received some potentially devastating news on Thursday when it was announced that running back C.J. Anderson could potentially miss the remainder of the season following a surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his right knee.
It goes without saying that losing Anderson for the season would be a huge blow to the Broncos’ shot at repeating as Super Bowl champions.
The Broncos have already found out that the trek to their sixth consecutive AFC West title isn’t going to be a walk in the park, and Anderson’s injury comes at a time in which the Broncos will take on three divisional opponents in a span of five weeks.
Luck was on the Broncos side in more ways than one during their Super Bowl run in 2015. Aside from the number of balls that bounced Denver’s way, the Broncos, for the most part, avoided the injury bug.
When Peyton Manning missed the second half of the 2015 regular season with a foot injury, Anderson was the rock of that offense. If he does in fact miss the remainder of the season the Broncos could find themselves in some serious trouble.
Luckily for the Broncos they seem to have a promising young running back in rookie Devontae Booker. Booker made waves when he first stepped foot in Denver, making the claim that he was here to “take someone’s job.”
The job is his for now.
Behind Booker is third year running back Kapri Bibbs out of Colorado State. Bibbs rushed for 1,741 yards and 31 touchdowns in his only season with the Rams. If Bibbs can replicate even some of that success in his first real shot at splitting an NFL workload, the Broncos shouldn’t skip a beat.
Growing pains seem inevitable with two young running backs. Anderson didn’t sign a four-year, $18 million deal for no reason. He’s the guy in Denver and Booker and Bibbs will have their hands full trying to fill the void that he leaves with this injury.
One true measure of a great team is depth, and this will be the perfect opportunity for the Broncos to see what they have in two young running backs when the stakes are high, and the stakes are high heading into their Week 8 matchup with the San Diego Chargers.
Getting swept by the Chargers wouldn’t do the Broncos any favors in the hunt for another division title.
The Broncos found a way to escape nearly every scenario in 2015. Let’s see if these Broncos can find their way around a new roadblock.