Broncos Week 8 Injury Report: RT Ja'Wuan James Finally Expected to Play
The Denver Broncos will take to the road this week in an AFC bout vs. the 4-2 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are weathering the Andrew Luck retirement as about as well as anyone could have expected, thanks to the play of QB Jacoby Brissett and some great coaching.
Meanwhile, the Broncos have been decimated by injuries, which have compounded the learning curve for Vic Fangio's complex defense and rendered Joe Flacco one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
The good news? Help is on the way for the Broncos.
Right tackle Ja'Wuan James is expected to finally make his return to the starting lineup. James has missed the last six-plus games due to suffering a sprained left knee in the season-opener, just 10 snaps in.
Meanwhile, the Broncos offensive line has been the epitome of beleaguered, as left tackle Garett Bolles has shown little growth from the penalty-prone and sack-allowing turnstile he was in years one and two and Elijah Wilkinson has been a guard miscast as a right tackle.
It hasn't been pretty upfront, but especially on the edges in pass protection. Flacco's play hasn't helped his O-line but having already rendered 23 sacks, the big boys upfront haven't exactly been a model of efficiency, like the Colts' starting five has been.
Rookie LB Justin Hollins is also listed as questionable as he recovers from the knee sprain he suffered in Week 5, while unsurprisingly, CB Bryce Callahan has been ruled out, as has safety Will Parks. Parks broke his hand in Week 7's debacle of a loss to Kansas City.
Keep an eye on rookie TE Noah Fant, though, as he suffered a laceration to his foot earlier this week, after cutting himself during the removal of tape from his ankle following a practice session. In the wake of the Emmanuel Sanders trade, the Broncos will need all the offensive firepower they can get.
With nearly half of his rookie year in the books, the time has come for Noah Fant to focus in and let that first-round talent out of the bottle finally.
For a full breakdown of both the Broncos and Colts injury reports, check out the video above.
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