Report: Broncos WR Tyrie Cleveland Out 4-6 Weeks Due to Throat Injury
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Tyrie Cleveland is paid to catch passes. But the Denver Broncos wide receiver cannot seem to catch a break.
Per 9News' Mike Klis, Cleveland recently suffered a throat injury that includes cartilage damage and will miss 4-6 weeks as a result. The unusual malady, however, won't require corrective surgery.
"There's a little cartilage thing going on there, so it's a little bit unique," Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett admitted after Thursday's training camp practice, via the official team site. "I've actually never heard of it before. Everything's fine. He'll be fine and he'll be back. It's just one of those things, because of the uniqueness of it, we just want to be sure we're good."
It's been a star-crossed offseason for Cleveland, a 2020 seventh-round draft pick who's tallied only six receptions for 63 scoreless yards across 17 appearances. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound wideout had returned to action following a "pretty bad" ankle sprain sustained during June's mandatory minicamp.
Now, this.
On the roster bubble even at full health, Cleveland's odds of cracking the initial 53-man Broncos squad — if his recovery timeline is accurate — have taken irreparable damage. There are simply too many able-bodied WRs (Seth Williams, Travis Fulgham, Brandon Johnson, Darrius Shepherd) pushing for spots behind Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Montrell Washington.
Cleveland's absence is nevertheless yet another blow to a suddenly-decimated receiving corps that's lost Tim Patrick to a season-ending ACL tear and Kendall Hinton to a (presumably minor) knee injury.
"It will be exciting to see who is going to step up. Somebody is going to have to," Hackett said Wednesday.
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