The Denver Broncos lost one of their former draft picks for the entire 2025 season after he tore his Achilles in Thursday’s joint practice against the San Francisco 49ers.
Denver Broncos lose Matt Henningsen for 2025 season
The Denver Broncos have been one of the healthiest teams in the NFL since Sean Payton took over in 2023, but that doesn’t mean the armor is impenetrable. In Thursday’s joint practice against the San Francisco 49ers last week, Matt Henningsen left practice with a lower leg injury.
MRI results confirmed that Henningsen, a former sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, suffered a torn Achilles, which effectively shuts down his 2025 season. Henningsen was looking to make an impact and compete for a spot on the 53-man roster on the defensive line after he spent 2024 on the team’s practice squad.
On Sunday, the Broncos placed him on the waived/injured list. This means Henningsen is subject to being claimed by another NFL team through the waiver order, but if he goes unclaimed, he’ll revert and land on the Broncos’ injured-reserve list.
The expectation is that he’ll clear waivers, go on the team’s injured reserve list, and undergo surgery as soon as possible, which will give him the chance to go through the rehabilitation process at the team facility with Broncos’ trainers and staff, despite his season being over.
The roster move regarding Henningsen opened up a spot on the roster, which prompted the Broncos to sign third-year defensive back Gregory Junior to the training camp roster. Junior appeared in 10 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022-2023, before spending time with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts on their practice squads in 2024.
He’ll be another addition to an already deep secondary group for Vance Joseph and the Denver Broncos defense.
The team will be off on Monday before returning to practice on Tuesday as training camp resumes.
