Broncos Place Linebacker, Running Back On Injured Reserve

The Denver Broncos are juggling multiple injury situations, and they closed out the week in advance of their Sunday contest against the Arizona Cardinals by placing running back Tyler Badie and Jonah Elliss on injured reserve, which means each player will miss at least four games. The news was reported by Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. 

Elliss was last seen hopping off the field on one foot late in the game against the Seattle Seahawks, so this move isn’t surprising given that. Coach Sean Payton did say that Elliss has a chance to return later this season. 

Both of these moves will amount to a swap, as the Broncos will get back linebacker Jonathon Cooper as he comes off the Commissioner’s Exempt list. Cooper has missed six games due to a de facto suspension after a pair of arrests in June related to a domestic violence incident. 

Badie, meanwhile, injured his thumb against the Seahawks and did not return, so the severity of his injury is a bit of a surprise. He and Elliss will be eligible to return for Denver’s Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, per Gabriel. 

Badie’s overall future with the Broncos could be at risk as well. The Broncos haven’t had anything remotely resembling a running game so far, and while Denver does trust Badie in pass protection, there’s been speculation that the Broncos will make a big trade for a running back, with Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts being the most prominent came coming up in rumors. 

That situation will depend to at least some extent on what happens with Jonah Coleman, who is the running back being swapped in for Badie. There are big expectations for Coleman given that he’s a rookie, and his performance could go a long way toward determining the fate of the entire running back corps. 

RJ Harvey is also still in the mix, but he’s performed like a third-down receiving back who’s undersized and not ready for a three-down role. 

The Broncos have also promoted a pair of players from the practice squad. Safety Taylor Rapp and cornerback and return man Sean Fresch Jr. were elevated for the second straight week. Fresch’s elevation was his third and final one, while Rapp has been elevated twice now and still has one move left. It would be surprising if either player sees the field against the Cardinals on Sunday.