Broncos' first injury report for Week 8 paints an early bleak picture

The Denver Broncos have consistently been among the healthiest teams in the NFL since Sean Payton took over back in 2023. That doesn't mean, though, the team has not dealt with injuries. Every NFL team has to deal with injuries in some capacity, and the teams that are usually standing in the end have better depth or better roster health overall.

In Week 7, a win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Broncos saw two key players leave the game in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, and defensive end Zach Allen.

And in the team's first injury report of Week 8, we see some key players on the report, and while it is early, their statuses for Week 8 could already be in doubt.

Denver Broncos injury report is getting longer as Week 8 approaches

Of note, Patrick Surtain II pracitced in full, so the Broncos should get him back, but all of Allen, Waddle, and Talanoa Hufanga did not practice:

The initial report with Waddle was that he aggravated his chest injury, but that there is 'hope' he can play on Sunday. Hufanga has already missed a couple of games due to his ankle injury, and if he does not practice in some capacity on Thursday, his status for Week 8 is in doubt. Allen has a hamstring injury and did not practice, either.

The weird thing is that there was not any sort of report that came out with Allen's injury like we saw with Waddle, so that could end up being good news that it's pretty minor.

We're definitely not going to make any declarations here since it's early in the week, but the Thursday statuses are going to be huge, as if any of the three "DNP" players from Wednesday are limited or full on Thursday, their chances of playing go way up.

However, if any of them again do not practice on Thursday, it would logically be unlikely that they play on Sunday. While the Broncos are more talented than Kansas City and get this game at home, not having even one of these players is going to be brutal.

In the same way that 2025's home game against the Chiefs was important, this one is as well. The Broncos would be in first place in the AFC West with a win, but if they lose, the Chiefs would improve to 6-1, and Denver would drop to 5-3 with two losses to the Chiefs already etched into their record.

It would severely hurt their chances at repeating as division champions. And as it concerns the pasing game, if the Broncos hope to build on their breakout from Week 7, having Waddle in the lineup would allow that to continue to happen.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow