Broncos' Rookie TE Albert Okwuegbunam Tore ACL, Done for Year, per Report
Another week, and another punch to the Denver Broncos' gut courtesy of the injury bug. Promising rookie tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, who'd come on strong since QB Drew Lock returned in Week 6, went down with a knee injury in Sunday's 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
On Monday, the news hit the wire. Okwuegbunam tore his ACL and is done for the year, per 9NEWS' Mike Klis.
"Per source, Broncos rookie TE Albert Okwuegbunam is done for the year with torn ACL. Yes, every team has injuries. Broncos have strong case for having way more than most. Total IR at 13 players, now nearing $45 million," Klis tweeted Monday morning.
The fact that Denver has more injuries than any other team is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. It's not like those teams with the most injuries each year are awarded a compensatory draft pick.
All the Broncos can do is bear down and march through the second half of the 2020 season. The Okwuegbunam news is particularly untimely, as the Broncos made the fateful decision just last week to place Jake Butt on injured reserve.
Denver can call Butt back up after three weeks on IR, if the tight end has recovered from the nagging hamstring injury that got him there. Meanwhile, the Broncos still have Noah Fant and Nick Vannett, the top-two tight ends on the depth chart, but this is a position that can't sustain another big injury or else the whole thing could collapse like a game of Jenga.
The Broncos brought Troy Fumagalli back for a visit last week. The team is expected to re-sign its 2018 fifth-round draft pick after Fumagalli passes through the requisite COVID-19 testing protocol. I would expect him to be signed to the active roster, as opposed to the practice squad.
Okwuegbunam had come on strong of late, proving to have chemistry still with his old Missouri QB Lock. The Broncos were just figuring out how to utilize the rookie tight end as a mismatch nightmare and then the injury bug jumped up and nipped him.
Okwuegbunam was Denver's fourth-round draft pick this year. He'll hit IR and finish his rookie campaign with 11 receptions (on 15 targets) for 121 yards and a touchdown.
The rookie tight end was pivotal in Denver's Week 8 comeback win, not only because of his touchdown but because of the two pass-interference penalties he drew in the clutch, the last of which gave the Broncos 1st-&-Goal from the 1-yard line with 00:01 to go in the game. It set up the tying touchdown, with the extra point sealing the win for Denver.
What terrible luck for Okwuegbunam, and the Broncos. As Klis illustrated quite succinctly, no team in the NFL has been affected more by the pandemic-impacted NFL calendar as the Broncos.
The injuries keep stacking up. And each one takes its toll. In Sunday's loss to the Falcons, the Broncos were without their top two cornerbacks in A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan and it cost the team in a big, bad way as QB Matt Ryan feasted on the inexperience and youth of the secondary.
Hopefully, the Broncos can stave off any additional losses. At a certain point, all one can do is shake one's head and laugh. It's either that, or cry.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
