Potential Fallout of Broncos Placing RB RJ Harvey on Injured Reserve

The curious case of Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey has reached its climax.

Harvey, who reportedly suffered a knee injury during Thursday's practice, has been placed on short-term injured reserve and will miss at least the next four games, the team announced Saturday.

The second-year back had already been ruled out for Week 8 against the Kansas CIty Chiefs.

In corresponding transactions, the Broncos promoted safety Taylor Rapp from the practice squad to the active roster, while also elevating running back Cody Schrader and offensive lineman Gavin Ortega from the taxi squad.

As mentioned, Harvey popped up on the injury report earlier this week with a knee issue; he was limited in practice on Thursday and did not practice Friday. The injury is not considered to be abnormally long-term or season-ending, though severe enough to warrant placement on IR.

Speaking Friday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton failed to disclose an update on Harvey's outlook, saying only, "No status now."

Potential Fallout of Harvey News

First, the obvious: this further thins out a running back room that previously lost RB Tyler Badie to short-term IR -- a room now presumably led by rookie Jonah Coleman, with fading veteran J.K. Dobbins also slated for a significant workload.

Coleman and Dobbins (and, to a much lesser extent, Schrader) must pick up the slack after Harvey rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown while ranking second on the team in receiving with 25 catches for 217 yards and another score across six games thus far.

“I think I’ve been a broken record just relative to a lot of things offensively and us improving," Payton said Wednesday concerning the run game. "There was obviously a step last week. We have to continue to build on it, different type [of] defense in this game. I think it’s shifting the focus to the technique of where these ends play, the type of front we see. It’s different than the last couple of games.”

Second, there were conspiracy-level theories floating around social media that Harvey wasn't really injured and instead was being kept healthy as part of a pending trade for Colts RB Jonathan Taylor. Those ... can be put to rest.

The Broncos continue to be linked to a blockbuster Taylor acquisition, though if Indianapolis insists on a back being included in the deal, they'll need to settle for Dobbins or Coleman, provided the latter is made available.

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