The Denver Broncos placed safety David Bruton Jr. on injured reserve on Tuesday and added Shaun Prater to the active roster…
The Denver Broncos delivered a bit of sad news on Tuesday evening as safety David Bruton Jr. has been placed on injured reserve. We talked at length this week about how critical Bruton has been to this team, and how his absence affects not just the Broncos’ defensive rotation, but also the special teams.
As much as any other player, Bruton is an absolutely critical piece of the puzzle for the Broncos on special teams.
He’s made some huge plays defensively this year and, pardon me for being so bold, I believe he’s been their best safety in coverage as well. Bruton will be sorely missed by the fans, coaches, and his teammates alike, especially after playing over 60 snaps with a broken leg which he thought was just a ‘bruise’.
The team’s candidate for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award has certainly made his case both on and off the field.
On the field, the Broncos decided to go after defensive back Shaun Prater to replace Bruton on the active, 53-man roster. Prater has bounced around the league since being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals to the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, and back to Minnesota before joining the Broncos.
He was signed immediately after a workout on Tuesday, per reports.
Prater’s addition is not of the garden variety for me as I am a big Iowa Hawkeyes fan. He was a starter early on in his career at Iowa, and for good reason, but he was also a very good special teams player. Having had the opportunity to watch his whole collegiate career, I certainly didn’t think he’d be a player that would just bounce around the league.
At Iowa, Prater finished his career an All-Big Ten performer with four forced fumbles his senior season at Iowa. He’s been listed by some as a safety, which I never saw him play at Iowa really, but that would seem to make sense. A player who was coached so well in a primarily zone coverage scheme in college certainly has the skills to cover man-up and should be a nice piece to this Broncos defense going down the stretch.