Broncos RT Elijah Wilkinson Headed to Injured Reserve

Elijah Wilkinson is injured which opens the way for Demar Dotson to start at right tackle.

As if things couldn't get any worse for the Denver Broncos in 2020, the team just got hit with another major injury to yet another starter. Right tackle Elijah Wilkinson is headed to injured reserve due to a lower-leg injury.

"Vic Fangio just said on KOA radio that RT Elijah Wilkinson is going on IR with leg injury," Klis tweeted on Tuesday morning. 

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The details of the injury have yet to be released, but it sounds like it's a fracture of some kind. We don't know what Wilkinson's timetable to return will be but we do know that he will have to miss the next three weeks due to the new IR rules.

Wilkinson has struggled to start the season, allowing seven total pressures as well as one sack on the season, per Pro Football Focus. Those numbers are not comprehensive nor are they indicative of his struggles. Wilkinson has been arguably the worst offensive lineman for the Broncos this season.

To fill the void, the Broncos are going to turn to 11-year veteran Demar Dotson, whom the team signed as a free agent on the doorstep of training camp. With 106 total starts over his 10 years in Tampa Bay, Dotson should bring an invaluable veteran presence to an offensive line that had been sieve worthy over the first three weeks of the season.

Going back to 2019, Dotson started 15 games for the Buccaneers, playing 1,045 total snaps and only allowing five sacks on a quality season.

While you never want to see a player have to miss time due to injury, this may be an addition by subtraction for the Broncos offense. Again, Wilkinson has struggled mightily thus far this season (and also as a starter in 2019), and there have been calls for him to lose his position going back almost six weeks.

Dotson is going to have to get ready quickly as the Broncos have a short week of preparation as a trip back East to MetLife Stadium to take on the lowly New York Jets comes next. It's a game that could see the Broncos emerge victorious for the first time this season. 

Follow Lance on Twitter @SandersonMHH and @MileHighHuddle.