Denver Broncos lose Ja’Wuan James for a while, Tim Patrick to IR
The Denver Broncos have lost WR Tim Patrick for the season, and RT Ja’Wuan James will miss a bunch of time, creating roster decisions.
Injuries are continuing to pile up for the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos are going to be without right tackle Ja’Wuan James for a while. The right tackle suffered a sprained knee early on in the team’s season-opening loss to the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.
The loss of James is a significant one. Outside of the five offensive line starters, there is not very much depth. Elijah Wilkinson will step up in James’ places for the time being. Wilkinson has had some starting experience, so at least the Broncos don’t have to worry about starting another rookie on the offensive line.
In other injury news, wide receiver Tim Patrick suffered a broken hand in Monday night’s game, and the injury requires surgery.
Patrick will be placed on injured reserve and have a chance to return in eight weeks. However, it does not seem likely that the Broncos will elect him as one of the two players that can return from injured reserve.
Denver has several candidates for the IR-return designation. One of those is quarterback Drew Lock who has a thumb injury. The other is running back Theo Riddick, who fractured his shoulder in his first preseason game as a Denver Bronco.
The Broncos have re-signed wide receiver/returner River Cracraft in light of Patrick’s injury status. Cracraft has just one career reception. His production has been on special teams—something the team desperately needs help in.
He has returned three kickoffs for 43 yards with a long of 23. In punt return duties, he has twelve returns for a total of 40 yards. Those numbers aren’t great, but he will also likely see time on the punt unit to try and stop opposing returners.
Next. Broncos should pursue Aaron Colvin. dark
The Broncos recently signed cornerback Diontae Spencer to automatically be the starting punt returner. Spencer did not have any opportunities to return punts in week one against the Raiders. Hopefully, he gets a shot against the Chicago Bears this Sunday.