The Denver Broncos could be without their best offensive lineman on Sunday, as Ron Leary has missed two straight days with a back injury…
The Denver Broncos’ offensive line play has been improved greatly this season with the addition of Ron Leary at the right guard spot.
Of course, the unit hasn’t been perfect, and in fact has been an area of weakness much of the season. But that doesn’t mean that Leary hasn’t made a major difference, grading out as the team’s highest overall graded offensive player this season by Pro Football Focus.
Leary’s performance this year has been even more impressive considering he was willing to make the change to right guard when it was determined that Max Garcia was more comfortable on the left side.
Of course, as you may know, Leary came to Denver having played — and excelled — with the Cowboys at left guard.
His presence against the Miami Dolphins this weekend looks questionable at best as of right now, as Leary has now missed the first two days of practice with a back injury.
Vance Joseph on his level of concern with Ron Leary’s back injury: “He was DNP for two days now, so obviously it’s an injury that could hold him out of the game.”
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) November 30, 2017
Head coach Vance Joseph alluded to Leary dealing with a number of different injuries going into last weekend’s matchup in Oakland, and that obviously now adding this back injury doesn’t help his chances of playing.
What if Leary can’t play?
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If you are without your best offensive lineman this weekend, it’s obviously a hit to your chances to win. Not to mention, the Broncos are already going on the road against a team loaded with former Broncos players (and head coach Adam Gase) in the early time slot.
Not having Leary puts the Broncos in a tough situation, but also gives them an opportunity to potentially evaluate young guard Connor McGovern, who was their top reserve at center this offseason.
McGovern came into the NFL with experience at guard and tackle, but the Broncos I think envision him long-term at either center or guard.
The Broncos could also move Allen Barbre back to the guard position and put Cyrus Kouandjio or Elijah Wilkinson in at tackle.
Joseph said that McGovern is one of a number of options the team has to replace Leary at guard if they need to do so. It remains uncertain what those plentiful options are.
Likely if Leary can’t play, we’ll see McGovern at right guard.