Broncos Place Key TE on IR, Elevate Ex-Saints RB to Active Roster
The Denver Broncos are biting the bullet regarding injured tight end Greg Dulcich. On the eve before the Washington Commanders arrive to cross swords at Mile High, the Broncos placed Dulcich on injured reserve, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Broncos elevated running back Dwayne Washington from the practice squad to the active roster. Dulcich will have to miss at least four games on short-term IR, which must have been right in the pocket of what the team expected, or else said bullet wouldn't have been bitten.
Dulcich suffered a hamstring injury during Week 1's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. All we knew based on reporting was that Denver expected the second-year tight end to miss "multiple weeks." Now we know he'll miss at least four.
Meanwhile, the Broncos will get some help replacing Dulcich's production in the passing game with wide receiver Jerry Jeudy fully healthy and returning to action in Week 2. Yeah, I know that Dulcich is technically a tight end, and Jeudy is a receiver. But let's face it; Dulcich is just a big-bodied receiver.
Jeudy is a very different receiver with twitched-up 4.46 speed and elite route-running skills. He'll be welcomed back by Russell Wilson with open arms.
Meanwhile, Adam Trautman will continue to hold down the TE1 job for the Broncos. It remains to be seen exactly which tight end stands to benefit from Dulcich's absence, but as the starter, it'll likely be Trautman, who caught five passes (on five targets) for 34 yards in Week 1.
Washington, a former New Orleans Saints running back, joined the Broncos back in mid-August. The 29-year-old was a 2016 seventh-round pick of the Detroit Lions.
Washington spent two years there before he joined the Saints in what would become a five-year tenure — four of which came under head coach Sean Payton.
The 6-foot-1, 223-pound Washington has appeared in 83 career games, tallying 693 yards from scrimmage (592 rushing) and one touchdown on 184 touches (168 carries). He'll be used on special teams and as the fourth running back on the depth chart.
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