The Denver Broncos have been a much healthier team in 2023 than we've grown accustomed to seeing. Instead of being absolutely swarmed by the injury bug, the Broncos have actually been able to put the majority of their top players out there on the field for most of the 2023 season. It's been one of the most underrated impacts of this new coaching staff, and even on a week-to-week basis where we haven't seen many injured Broncos players struggling to stay on the field.
Although the team's injured reserve list is shorter than it was last year (and most recent years), there are still some potential impact players coming back in 2024 off of IR. Which players could make the most substantial impact in 2024 after missing most or all of 2023?
Let's take a look at five names you may not have thought about for a while.
1. Jonas Griffith, LB
The Denver Broncos added Jonas Griffith in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers, and he's shown some tremendous potential. He was supposed to be one of the team's starters last season, but suffered an injury in the preseason and had to gut it out just to be ready for Week 1 against the Seahawks. Over the course of the 2022 season, Griffith would be replaced in the lineup by Alex Singleton, who earned a three-year deal in the 2023 offseason for his play.
The Broncos drafted Drew Sanders in 2023, and he will be a factor in the lineup in 2024, but I also think Griffith -- a restricted free agent -- could be coming back on a team-friendly deal and perhaps start alongside Singleton at the linebacker position with Josey Jewell slated for free agency.
That might be a lofty prediction, but it will be fun to watch how that position group plays out. Griffith is a tremendous special teams player, at the very least, and should be a significant contributor at a team-friendly price.