Fangio Says CB Bryce Callahan 'Will be Ready' to Play vs. Bengals

A familiar face returned to the sidelines on Sunday when Denver Broncos slot cornerback Bryce Callahan was activated off the injured reserve list. Callahan missed a total of four games after awkwardly hyper-extending his knee in the Broncos' Week 8 win over the Washington Football Team.

Despite being back in pads, Callahan was held out of Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions. On Monday, head coach Vic Fangio revealed there had been a number of factors that played into his ultimate decision to keep Callahan on ice.

“That activation was twofold," Fangio explained. "One-with the COVID stuff floating out there, you can’t bring a guy up on a Sunday if you have guy’s test—and this was the same thing for [CB Michael] Ojemudia-if they’re on IR. Anybody on the practice squad can come up on a Sunday, but to get Ojemudia or Bryce up on a Sunday, we needed to add them on Saturday to the active roster. That was part of the thinking.”

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For Fangio and company, juggling the gameday roster, injured reserve, and the practice squad during the final push towards the playoffs could now prove vital especially as things ramp up relative to NFL COVID protocols. If the Broncos can keep returning key injured players to the field, it gives the team a chance down the stretch.

Even when the Lions game was well in hand, and Fangio had pulled most of his defensive starters, he resisted the temptation to insert the fully fit and ready Callahan. Moving forward, the focus is on delivering another solid week of practice before pitching him into a huge matchup against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in a contest that could make or break the entire season.

“Bryce was ready to play and able to play [but] we had hoped to give him another week of practice before we did play him,” Fangio said. “That’s why we didn’t put him in, even at the end of the game when we made a lot of subs.”

What’s clear is that Fangio is doubling down on managing the overall health of his roster during the stretch run and taking a chance on Callahan’s health towards the end of a blowout win was the very definition of unnecessary. Having Callahan as a full go for Sunday's AFC throwdown with the Bengals will be a timely boost, especially when you consider the number of receiving options Cincinnati can boast.

Fangio reiterated he’s fairly confident there will be no further setbacks for Callahan's return to the starting lineup.

“Yeah, I think he’ll be ready to play this week,” Fangio said. “He could have played yesterday. He was ready, but I think after another week of practice, he’ll be even more ready.”

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