The Denver Broncos may have to do some substantial roster shuffling in the coming days with a wide variety of players coming back from injuries or close to coming back from them. The Broncos completed a huge comeback win against the Chicago Bears on Sunday to get their first win of the season and hopefully capture some positive momentum going forward.
Although issues certainly remain for the Broncos after what we saw against the Bears, there are players on the roster who can help, but simply haven't been able to lately (or at all this season). Thankfully for Denver, most of them are on the defensive side of the ball.
It's not guaranteed that all of these players will come back at once. In fact, that's definitely not going to happen. With that being said, there are at least six players who are close to a return to the field that could help the Denver Broncos stay hot, even if they end up coming back just one at a time in the next couple of games. Let's take a look at which players we can expect to see heping this Broncos roster again very soon.
6 Denver Broncos players who could be coming back soon from injuries
1. Justin Simmons, safety
Losing Caden Sterns to a season-ending injury was bad enough for the Denver Broncos, but losing Justin Simmons has proven to be rather detrimental to this team over the last couple of weeks. After the Broncos gave up a bunch of yards and big plays in Week 2 against the Commanders, many fans wondered sarcastically (out loud) what kind of difference it was even going to really make to not have Simmons when he was ruled out due to injury.
Well, the Broncos have given up about 1,200 yards of offense the last two weeks, and both Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Fields have carved up the secondary. Maybe Justin Simmons makes more of a difference than anyone really thinks.
Having Simmons back will be huge for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he's the best turnover creator on the team.
2. PJ Locke, safety
At this point, getting PJ Locke back would be a gift from the football gods for the Denver Broncos. With all due respect to the task at hand for Delarrin Turner-Yell the last handful of weeks, having PJ Locke back in the lineup will be massive for Denver.
Locke looked like he was on his way to extended action in the lineup last season as well before injury, and at a minimum, he upgrades the special teams and can play all over the defensive formation. Locke is a weapon for the defense and will be a tremendous boost to the secondary.
3. Frank Clark, pass rusher
I'm not sure how much we want to see Frank Clark out there over guys like Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper at this point.
Bonitto and Cooper have been playing pretty well so far this season with increased opportunities, and I think the Broncos should continue giving them snaps. However, pass rush in the NFL needs to come in waves, and the Broncos need more out of their veterans off the edge. Namely, they need more out of both Frank Clark and Randy Gregory.
Clark has been out with an injury, but he could return against the Jets at the earliest, or against the Chiefs a couple of days later at the latest. One way or another, having him available could be a boost to the pass rush and overall edge play.
4. Greg Dulcich, tight end
Because of the timing of when he was placed on injured reserve, the soonest we can see Greg Dulcich return to the field is in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
But the Broncos might be smashing send on getting him activated as soon as possible with so little impact from the tight end position in recent weeks. Dulcich is the type of player that you undoubtedly create a package of plays for. He will be such a huge addition to the offense if and when he is able to get fully healthy. Hopefully, we see him in Week 6, the Broncos' Thursday night bout in Kansas City.
5. K'Waun Williams, cornerback
The Denver Broncos' secondary has been victimized throughout the first four weeks of the season. We don't need to use any of the embarrassing numbers to really indicate just how bad it's been, but needless to say, K'Waun Williams coming back will be a godsend.
Williams was one of the Broncos' most underrated players last season and brings a level of physicality and toughness to the slot as well as proficiency in coverage. Having him back in the nickel should be huge when the Broncos have had issues at that position so far this season.
6. Baron Browning, edge
Perhaps the player I'm most excited to see return to the field is linebacker Baron Browning. Browning was expected to be one of the Broncos' top breakout players defensively this season and his absence has been painful.
Browning had surgery on his knee around OTAs, and landed on the PUP to open training camp. He is eligible this week to come off of the PUP, and he was working on the side field as of last week. Working on the side field doesn't necessarily mean anything definitive, but it's much better than a player not doing any physical work at all during practice.
Browning's status was to be reassessed at this time, so hopefully he's ready to come back and bring that big-time speed off the edge. But expectations should be tempered for the time being. It's likely it will take him some time to regain full strength.