Manny Ramirez's first year with the Broncos was in 2011. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

Right guard Chris Kuper has become all too familiar with the ceiling of the operating room. Just as he was easing back into practice after a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle left him sidelined since January 1, Kuper found himself back in the OR to repair a broken left forearm.

“Unfortunately it was a freak accident,” John Fox said. “His arm swung and hit someone and actually cracked the smaller bone in the arm.”

Kuper had surgery on Wednesday and he is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.

As Kuper was easing his way back into football, backup right guard Manny Ramirez was taking most of the reps with the first team. The “next man up” approach never skips a beat.

“Last year when Kuper went down, Russ Hochstein came in and did a great job, and Manny has been with the one’s almost the entire camp because Chris was limited early on when we started here,” offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said. “He’s done a great job and he’s fit right in. We’re not going to skip a beat.”

Hochstein has since signed with the Arizona Cardinals so it’s Ramirez that will get his shot. Ramirez has played in 20 games (15 starts) during his five year career. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 draft out of Texas Tech.

More importantly, however, people are wondering how the 6’3″, 313-pound lineman will gel in Peyton Manning’s offense.

“It’s probably more critical for J.D. [Walton] and for Orlandon [Franklin] to be comfortable with Manny because he’s right in between them and they’re making calls together, and so the fact that he has had an extended amount of work going back to OTA’s will be beneficial to him.”

It’s next man up until it’s last man up in Denver. Let the games begin.

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The Denver Broncos need to consider all options, including promoting Ryan Harris to starting right tackle, to make up for the injury of Chris Kuper (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE).

Call it unbelievably bad luck or a casualty of playing a contact-heavy sport, but Chris Kuper has suffered another broken bone injury.  This time it’s his left forearm.

Kuper was on the verge of full recovery from a particularly nasty broken leg he suffered in the regular season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.  Just how nasty?  Many players were seen diverting their gaze from Kuper’s leg.

The injury will certainly be a setback to the offensive line – a position that might be the gateway to Peyton Manning’s and the team’s overall success.  Kuper is expected to be out 3-6 weeks, putting him on track for return prior to the September 30^th matchup versus the Oakland Raiders.

No knock to Manny Ramirez, the number two guard on the depth chart, but the Broncos need to be thinking about putting the best eleven players on the field even if it means a bit of unorthodox thinking.  Slide Orlando Franklin over to guard and promote Ryan Harris to first-team right tackle.  These types of transitions are never easy for players, especially one learning a new style of offense, but Franklin has collegiate experience at guard and Harris was a highly coveted player in 2011 allowing only 4.5 sacks in 34 starts prior the back injury that forced him out of the 2011 season.

Fortunately for the Broncos, there are still four weeks and three preseason games to determine the right blend for the offensive line, but putting your five best in front of Manning is a good start.

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