Broncos just got the best injury news they’ve gotten in a while
The Denver Broncos have gotten a lot of bad news on the injury front in recent weeks, but the recent update on Jerry Jeudy is a good one.
The Denver Broncos have gotten a lot of really bad injury news early in the 2021 season. They’ve lost a number of players to injured reserve, whether temporary stays or long-term stays, including budding star wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.
Jeudy’s ankle injury in the team’s Week 1 victory over the New York Giants appeared to be a really bad one.
Fortunately for the Denver Broncos, he was given an initial recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks or 6-8 weeks (depending on who you asked at the time) with a high-ankle sprain. The Broncos’ injury timeline projections have not exactly been accurate so far this season, but the team has been optimistic that Jeudy’s return to the field could be closer to the six week mark than eight, and it looks like it might even be closer to four than six.
Broncos just got the best injury news they’ve gotten in a while on Jerry Jeudy
Per source, WR Jerry Jeudy has been designated to return from IR today. Starts his 21-day window. He’s attacked his ankle sprainrehab, making great progress and increasing his activity. Chance he plays Thursday at Cleveland, but if not he’s tracking well for Washington. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) October 16, 2021
The Broncos designated Jeudy for return from IR, which doesn’t mean he’s on the active roster yet, but he could get there in the very near future.
As Mike Klis (who reported Jeudy’s great injury update) noted, there is a chance that Jeudy plays on Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns.
The Broncos just signed veteran John Brown to the practice squad, but his presence will still be necessary even with Jeudy back on the active roster as effectively the team’s KJ Hamler replacement.
After watching what happened with Bradley Chubb coming back from an ankle injury, many in Broncos Country will probably be leery about Jeudy returning on what seems like an expedited timeline, but Jeudy has been making great progress in his rehab and he’s been looking pretty good in the limited video footage we have of him working on the field pre-game or even at practice.
A full week of practice would be nice for Jeudy and it certainly feels like it would be more likely for him to come back on Halloween against the Washington Football Team, allowing the second-year player ample time to get on the practice field and work his way back to full play strength.
Selfishly, many in Broncos Country want nothing to do with any sort of “extra” time for Jeudy on the shelf. If he doesn’t come back before the Washington game, the Broncos might be 3-4 and wondering what might have been different had one of their biggest difference makers been out there.
Over the past couple of weeks, the offense has been absolutely terrible. Getting Jeudy back, even if he’s not quite 100 percent, would be a massive boost for the Broncos.
We’ll have to see how the first game for John Brown in orange and blue goes. If Brown is able to come out there and have a substantial impact as a vertical threat, perhaps the Broncos will feel confident they can give Jeudy the extra time to recover.
If Jeudy is feeling good, though, there’s no reason not to move the timeline for his return up.