The Denver Broncos have yet to see what their third-round pick, Baron Browning, can really do on the football field.
Browning has been nursing a lower leg injury while the team practices in training camp and prepares for its first preseason game this Saturday. The team is trying to get him out on the practice field and though no surgery is needed for this mysterious injury, rehab doesn’t seem to be going great.
In the NFL, especially as a rookie, you can’t afford to miss reps on the practice field. In a defense like the one that Vic Fangio runs, it’s simply not going to work to not be out there and as a result, the team will turn to other players.
Last season, fifth-round pick Justin Strnad was injured early in the summer and ended up missing the entire season. Coincidentally, he will be one of the guys asked to step up while Browning works to get out there.
For Browning, this was an important training camp. He didn’t really have a set position but was versatile enough to where the team could have found him a key role on defense due to his immense potential. Instead, he has missed all of that time and will be behind the eight ball when he gets back.
This is likely part of the reason why the team claimed Barrington Wade off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens. It could be because Browning just won’t be ready for quite some time and could start the season on the PUP list.
What will be Browning’s impact as a rookie?
It’s a concern that Browning is missing all of this time and even if he is able to take the practice field and play in some preseason games, he is going to be way behind the rest of the players at the position and will start the season in a very limited role. That role could last most of the year.
The Broncos will go with Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell, Strnad and probably a guy like Josh Watson to begin the year if Browning is in a limited role. The inside linebacker position was already thin for the Broncos and Browning’s slow development makes that more of a concern.
Unless Browning is able to take the field soon and make a quick impact, his rookie campaign could end up being a quiet one.