Gary Kubiak has provided some information on the injury status of Broncos 2015 rookies Ty Sambrailo and Jeff Heuerman. Both players missed nearly all of the 2015 season.
As a rookie in the NFL, the worst possible thing that could happen is that you miss the entire season due to injury. For two of the Broncos 2015 draft picks, that became a reality and now both men are working towards a successful 2016 season.
Ty Sambrailo was named the starting left tackle during training camp after Ryan Clady tore his ACL before the season began. However, Sambrailo only played in three games for the Broncos before injuring his shoulder. He tried to make a comeback, but suffered a setback and was forced to miss the entire season.
Jeff Heuerman was not so lucky. Just days after being drafted by the Broncos, he tore his ACL and would miss the entire season before it even began. I know that must have been really tough on him. He was set to have a pretty solid year in my opinion.
Gary Kubiak mentioned at the Scouting Combine today that he fully expects both Sambrailo and Heuerman to be ready for OTA’s. This is good news for both players, who figure to play a huge part for the Broncos in their title defense season.
We did get to see a little bit of what Sambrailo brings to the table. With tackle being one of the bigger issues for the team in 2015, having Sambrailo back would be a huge boost to the Broncos offensive line.
For Heuerman, the tight end position could benefit with his return. Owen Daniels did a solid job at the position last year. Vernon Davis, a player acquired via trade from the San Francisco 49ers, did not end up working out and I would expect he will not be resigned.
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Virgil Green never saw many opportunities, which I was quite surprised. The team signed him to a three year deal last offseason. However, he did not see the field on offense very often. Hopefully that changes in 2016.
For both Sambrailo and Heuerman, I expect both men to be key contributors to the offense, which had its struggles but did enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, (thanks to the help of the defense) and to be great players in the title defense season.