The 1-4 Denver Broncos will be in Kansas City to face the 4-1, defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. It will be their second AFC West (Week 1 vs Las Vegas Raiders) matchup, the first one out of three on the road. It is also the first out of four (at the moment) Primetime games (Week 10 at BUF - MNF, Week 11 vs MIN - SNF, and Week 16 vs NE - SNF).
The final injury report ahead of the game was released by the Broncos, but since it was a short week of practice, the report is estimated ...
Wednesday's estimated #DENvsKC injury report:
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 11, 2023
📰 » https://t.co/YVGUpyiOLG pic.twitter.com/Yrxr70SF80
Let's start with the offensive side of the ball, which is one third of the injury report.
Broncos starting center Lloyd Cushenberry, who has been dealing with a quad injury, was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, and he is good to go. Now, starting running back Javonte Williams, who suffered a quad injury in the first half of the week 4 game against the Chicago Bears, and missed the week 5 game against the New York Jets, was limited in the first practice, but was a full participant in the last two. He is back after missing last week's game.
Now, the big question for Broncos fans ... will Greg Dulcich be activated to the 53-man roster, and play for the first time since week 1 against the Raiders? Well, he returned to practice this week, as his 21-day activation window was opened. Dulcich did not practice on Monday, was a limited participant on Tuesday, and was a full participant on Wednesday, he is listed as questionable, but he will be activated!
#Broncos expected to activate tight end Greg Dulcich off IR, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 12, 2023
Dulcich was listed as questionable for the #Chiefs game with a hamstring injury. Usage still unclear but he's set to re-enter lineup barring surprise.
He might have a limited snap-count against KC, but having Greg back is huge for the offense!
Regarding the defensive side of the ball, three of the six defensive players listed, will NOT play against the Chiefs. These are edge rusher Baron Browning (knee), defensive lineman DJ Jones (knee), and Frank Clark.
Keep an eye on this one: The #Broncos and DE Frank Clark agreed to a pay cut that takes his $3.5 million base salary down to the minimum the rest of the way $841k), sources say. Clark gave back $1.679 million in base pay as part of the restructure. pic.twitter.com/fTpOuoeV0l
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 12, 2023
Browning started the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List, he started to practice this week. DJ Jones left the week 5 game against the New York Jets after a knee injury and did not practice through the week.
Safety Justin Simmons (hip), and defensive lineman Mike Purcell (Ribs), were limited in practice for the first two days, but were full participants on Wednesday's practice, so they are good to go. Inside linebacker Justin Strnad (back) was limited on Tuesday's practice, but he is good to go.
Regarding the opponent, Kansas City has three players listed as questionable. These are tight end Travis Kelce (likely to play), edge rusher George Karlaftis (might not play), and punter Tommy Townsend (likely to play).