Broncos lead league with injuries, linebacker Jonas Griffith latest addition
Nov. 18—ENGLEWOOD — No team in the NFL is as injured as the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos currently have 14 players on the injured reserve, and will likely soon have a league-high 15 with the addition of inside linebacker Jonas Griffith, who injured his foot during Thursday's practice and will miss significant time. The only other team with as many players on the injured reserve is the Los Angeles Chargers, which also has 14. But the Broncos have the highest amount of cap space on the list at $55,308,702, or 26.54% of their cap space, according to Spotrac.
Of the 14 players on Denver's injured reserve, eight of them are starters, including wide receiver Tim Patrick, running back Javonte Williams and left tackle Garett Bolles.
"It's unbelievably unfortunate," coach Nathaniel Hackett said. "We have great people here. We have the strength staff, the training room — everybody. We are evaluating everything, and we are looking at it. Those guys have worked, and we have all looked into what we can do and how we can prevent things. Obviously, when things happen out on the field, you can't prevent those. We are looking at it all. We have them do so many different things from hydration tests to sleep monitoring to asking them surveys — as much as we can.
"Sometimes things happen, and for whatever reason, it's happened a lot this year. It's unfortunate, but it gives other guys opportunities to play."
On Sunday against the Raiders, the Broncos will be without Griffith, receiver Jerry Jeudy (ankle), receiver KJ Hamler (hamstring), tight end Andrew Beck (hamstring) and cornerback K'Waun Williams (knee). Hamler and Williams are also candidates to be added to the injured reserve.
No unit has been more injured than the Broncos' offensive line. Left guard Dalton Risner is the only starting offensive linemen to play in every game. And if Tom Compton, who practiced all week, starts at right tackle on Sunday or rookie Luke Wattenberg at center, it would be Denver's sixth different starting offensive line this season in 10 games.
