Denver Broncos: Bryce Callahan will return to practice

The Denver Broncos have not yet seen free agent cornerback Bryce Callahan in action. He will try to practice according to Vic Fangio.

When the Denver Broncos signed free agent cornerback Bryce Callahan from the Chicago Bears, it appeared they have completed the ‘best case scenario’ free agency on paper.

They had brought in the versatile Kareem Jackson, capable of starting at safety or cornerback. They paid big money for a fix at right tackle with Ja’Wuan James from the Miami Dolphins.

Then they picked up Callahan, who was previously with head coach Vic Fangio in Chicago. Callahan developed under Fangio and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell into one of the best slot corners in the NFL, but the Broncos believed he could play outside corner in their scheme with Chris Harris in the nickel.

After spending the early portion of the offseason recovering from a broken foot he suffered in Chicago, Callahan returned to action and was practicing well before re-injuring the foot at the Broncos’ practice at the stadium.

He tested the foot a couple of times after that, but has now missed 10 weeks of the regular season in addition to missing some of the rest of training camp and preseason after the stadium practice.

Now, after the Broncos’ bye week, it appears as though Callahan is going to test his foot once again.

This is a huge development as Callahan was considered 50-50 by Fangio to be able to go again this season. The fact that the Broncos have him practicing is a good sign of what’s been going on behind the scenes, and a good sign that things went well with Callahan’s non-surgical procedure more than six weeks ago.

Initially, the Broncos gave a 4-6 week timeframe for Callahan’s recovery. Fangio later amended it to a hard six weeks and it’s now coming up on seven weeks since Callahan’s procedure reportedly happened back in September.

As a matter of fact, Wednesday, November 13 will mark seven weeks exactly.

Although Callahan has likely been working off the field and rehabbing, trying to get his foot right to play this season, he’s not going to be in game shape right away so it’s doubtful the Broncos would rush him back this week against the Vikings.

Callahan certainly has to be motivated to get back out on the field this season, not only to prove that the Broncos made a good decision by paying him on a three-year contract, but also because he can earn over $31,000 in bonus money every week he’s active for a game.

At this point, it’s more about Callahan’s long-term health than anything. If the Broncos felt like he had no chance to play this season, they would have shut him down earlier in the year and gotten him a procedure to surgically repair his foot.

They haven’t done that to this point, which leads me to believe both the team and the player feel there’s a decent chance he can get through this injury.

Hopefully, we will get to see this guy on the field this season.