The Denver Broncos defense has been stellar so far for a majority of the season, but it’s been clear as day that they’ve missed defensive tackle Malcolm Roach. They could be getting him back as soon as this week.
On Wednesday, the Broncos opened his 21-day window by designating him to return off injured reserve. This means he could return this Sunday against the New York Jets, but let’s take a look at this window and what it means.
Basically, Roach can practice, which he did on Wednesday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be ready to go on Sunday just yet. The Broncos have 21 days to move him back onto the active roster, which is expected to happen.
If 21 days passed and the Broncos didn’t move him onto the active roster, he would revert to IR for the remainder of the year, which isn’t even remotely expected.
With Roach practicing on Wednesday for the first time since suffering a calf injury during practice ahead of Week 1, the Broncos will see how he handles things with his return to play plan that Beau Lowery and the training staff have him on.
If he handles practice well this week and doesn’t experience a setback, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s officially activated back to the 53-man roster and plays vs. the New York Jets, with Ben Powers’ eventual transition to injured reserve opening up a spot on the roster.
