Few teams have been bitten by the injury bug throughout training camp like the Denver Broncos have this season.
They’ve been without linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who suffered a hip injury working out on his own at the end of May, and running back Devontae Booker, who hurt his wrist during OTAs for the entirety of camp. Linebacker Shane Ray suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist, which required surgery to correct, and hasn’t been able to participate since the second day of training camp.
All of that happened before the Broncos even took the field for their first game. Since last Thursday’s game against the Bears, they’ve placed defensive lineman Billy Winn on injured reserve after suffering an ACL injury in the first quarter. Third round draft pick Carlos Henderson had surgery on a torn ligament in his left thumb on Sunday that will keep him out for an unknown amount of time and defensive end Derek Wolfe was carted off the field on Saturday with what turned out to be a sprained ankle.
“It’s day-to-day,” Joseph said on Wolfe’s status. “It’s a lower ankle sprain so we’re going to be smart with this thing—we aren’t going to rush him back and put him out there at 80 percent; not during preseason. We’re going to make sure he’s back to 100 percent before he plays again. Right now, it’s day-to-day and we’re taking it slow.”
On Monday, defensive end Jared Crick was carted off the field with what Joseph believed to be back spasms. For an already ravaged defensive line, losing Crick for an extended amount of time would be a tough task for the Broncos to recover from. But, as life in the NFL goes, for now it’s the next man up.
“It sucks anytime you get someone down,” nose tackle Domata Peko said on Monday. “Wolfe seems like he’ll be OK. I’m not sure what went on with Crick today, but that’s the name of the game. It’s football, things happen like that. You never know what’s going to be your last play. We have a good group of guys here to step up and that’s what it’s about. Someone goes down, it’s about the next man standing up and going out there and proving yourself. We have a lot of young guys here that are ready to stand up, but hopefully Crick and Wolfe will be fine and I believe they will.”
With Wolfe and now Crick down for the time being, Peko knows that it’s time for the younger players like second-year defensive end Adam Gotsis and fourth-year nose tackle Zach Kerr to step up.
“We have guys like Adam Gotsis who’s been in the system already for a year, he’s come a long way from last year,” Peko said. “We have a guy that we brought in here around the same time as me, Zach Kerr. Those are two of the guys that will need to step up and I have nothing but faith in them. That’s what defense is about, it’s about challenges and it’s about if someone goes down you have to be ready to go.”
Injuries are not just a part of training camp, but a part of football. After so many days of pushing their bodies to the limit, people are bound to get hurt. Cornerback Aqib Talib has an idea that might keep his teammates on the field and out of the training room.
“People better pray more at night,” Talib said. “That’s the only thing that’s going to help. It’s football. Guys get hurt. It’s weird injuries, too. I pray every night and every morning. I’m good.”
