The Denver Broncos swung a major trade for Jaylen Waddle earlier in the offseason. His addition to the offense should be able to help this unit reach a new level, and the main beneficiary here should be quarterback Bo Nix, who simply has not had a go-to player at this stage of his career.
Waddle brings three 1,000-yard seasons in his five years with the team, and on Wednesday's padded practice, which was the longest one yet, he left early on with an injury. He did not return to practice, either.
Injuries happen, and are a part of the game, and this will be one to monitor in the coming days. Here's what we know so far...
Denver Broncos WR Jaylen Waddle leaves practice with injury on Wednesday
As you can expect, head coach Sean Payton was asked about Waddle following the padded practice, and he said that he has some muscle tightness and that he'll evaluated:
Sean Payton said Jaylen Waddle has some “muscle tightness.”
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 5, 2026
“We’ll evaluate him. I think he’s fine.” pic.twitter.com/xBIRranS1m
Payton also said he thinks he'll be fine, which is good. As of now, we do not have official word on Waddle, but I suppose this update is better than nothing. Payton does have a tendency to be as vague as possible with injury updates, as he typically doesn't like talking about them at all.
But the update from Payton does appear to be somewhat positive. Waddle not returning at all is certainly notable, but during this time of the offseason, being cautious is typically what teams do, so Waddle not returning might not be a huge thing.
With Waddle in the mix, the Broncos figure to deploy him, Sutton, and perhaps Pat Bryant as the primary players in the room, but all of Marvin Mims Jr, Troy Franklin, and Lil'Jordan Humphrey could have a huge say.
What really is amazing is how much better the Broncos receiver room looks like with Waddle in the picture. The main issue with the room pre-Waddle was that the previous group was all punching up a weight class, which simply wasn't something they were capable of doing.
And now, Waddle slides into that unofficial WR1 role, which is going to have a ripple effect down the room. As soon as more information comes out on Waddle from sources, we'll provide updates as soon as possible.
But for now, we do not have an official word outside of what Payton said to the media following the padded Wednesday practice.
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