Broncos Unveil Final Week 13 Injury Report: Lindsay, Jeudy & Reed Questionable
The Denver Broncos walk into Week 13's road tilt vs. the Kansas City Chiefs even more wounded. The smashmouth, 1950s-style ground-and-pound game the NFL foisted upon the Broncos last weekend came at a cost.
Stud cornerback Bryce Callahan suffered a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve. And star running back Phillip Lindsay, who played as much Wildcat quarterback as anything last week, suffered a knee injury.
Initial concerns were that Lindsay's knee injury might end his season but further analysis in a second opinion assuaged those concerns, revealing it to be more minor. With questions about Lindsay's availability this week for Sunday Night Football's AFC West throwdown, as well as that of a couple more key players, the Broncos released their final injury report for Week 13.
Takeaways
The Broncos have ruled out depth safety and special teams contributor Trey Marshall. Alas, the recent acquisition of Will Parks off waivers won't help the Broncos this week, as he won't be available to the team until early next week assuming he passes all the COVID-19 tests in the interim.
As for the questionable players — Lindsay, wideout Jerry Jeudy, and rush linebacker Malik Reed — the team has expressed an optimistic tonality on their prospects for Sunday night. I'd hedge on Jeudy and Reed being a go but Lindsay, at this stage, is 50-50.
If Lindsay can't go, it'll be the Melvin Gordon show, supplemented by some Royce Freeman action, the latter of whom served valiantly as another Wildcat QB in last week's debacle vs. New Orleans. Even if Lindsay is cleared to play, the Broncos are likely to use him sparingly, especially considering that Chiefs' safety Daniel Sorensen knocked him out of the last meeting between these teams with a helmet-to-helmet hit, of which he was later fined by the league.
Expect a healthy dose of Gordon on Sunday night. The Chiefs currently field the No. 23 rushing defense in the league, which plays into the Broncos' hands, if they can execute. That's a big if — but hey — the Broncos surprised everyone with their collective blocking and rushing effort in Week 11's upset win over Miami.
If Jeudy can't go, Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler will have to carry the load, with a contribution from tight end Noah Fant. If Reed can't go, the Broncos will need Jeremiah Attaochu, who opened the season as the starter opposite of Bradley Chubb, to get back to the late-2019 form that garnered him a new deal from the team this past spring.
Now, for some good news. Starting defensive lineman Shelby Harris is going to play in this game. How much action he receives will depend on his conditioning in-game after spending a full month on the couch as he recovered from COVID-19.
“As of today, he will play unless he has any setbacks between now and game day," Vic Fangio said on Friday. "He won't be able to play his normal allotment of plays. We're going to have to get him in and out of there a bunch.”
Harris' return, combined with that of the Broncos' QB trio, should give the team a modest emotional boost.
Chiefs
Linebacker Dorian O'Daniel has been ruled out but the player to watch is rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has been designated as questionable with a non-COVID illness.
Otherwise, the Chiefs are significantly closer to full strength entering this matchup than the Broncos. By leaps and bounds.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
