Broncos Move RT Billy Turner to IR with Knee Injury
For the second time in as many weeks, the Denver Broncos were forced to place an offensive lineman on injured reserve, losing Billy Turner for at least four games after the starting right tackle suffered a knee injury during Sunday's loss to Tennessee.
In corresponding transactions, announced Tuesday, the team activated OL Tom Compton from the Physically Unable to Perform list, elevated defensive lineman Jonathan Harris from the practice squad, and waived wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland from the 53-man roster.
Signed to a $1.6 million contract last March, Turner returned to the Mile High City after a knee issue ended his three-year run in Green Bay — the very same issue that kept him in mothballs amid Broncos training camp and preseason. He held up for all of three starts, overtaking placeholder RT Cameron Fleming, who's missed the last two games with a quad ailment.
Turner went down in the second half of Denver's 17-10 defeat against the Titans, and, as of Monday, was considered "week-to-week," per head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The 31-year-old is now ineligible to play until the club's Dec. 18 home contest versus Arizona.
Former undrafted free agent Quinn Bailey replaced Turner and presumably would start Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders if Fleming cannot go.
“I think Quinn came in there and did a really great job," Hackett said Monday. "[He’s] another guy who hasn’t gotten a lot of reps throughout the year. He’s been working on scout team, and then we activated him for this game. He jumped right in there and it wasn’t too big for him. In the beginning, it was a little—he needed to get his feet underneath him. As the game went on, I thought he did a good job. [T] Cam [Fleming]—we will see. He is day-to-day. We will see where he is at as we move forward.”
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