Broncos Week 5 Injury Report: Final Decisions on Surtain, Moss

The Denver Broncos have released their final injury report ahead of Sunday's road tilt against the winless Los Angeles Chargers.

As expected, the Broncos will be without starting cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss, who went down with ankle and rib injuries, respectively, during last week's loss to San Francisco. They were ruled out after missing practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Although it wasn't included on the report, Denver also placed wide receiver Pat Bryant -- who suffered an ankle injury of his own in Week 4 -- on short-term injured reserve. Bryant will be sidelined for at least the next four games before being eligible to return.

Listed as full practice participants on Friday and given no game designation were defensive end Zach Allen, running back Tyler Badie (foot), defensive lineman DJ Jones, outside linebacker Dondrea Tillman (hamstring), and tight end Adam Trautman (shoulder).

Friday's #DENvsLAC injury report:

📰 » https://t.co/pkZT6PjAXz pic.twitter.com/4DMyEOpFpt
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 9, 2026

On the Chargers' side, it's ... much messier. Los Angeles officially ruled out seven players; among them, starting tackle Joe Alt, safety Derwin James, wide receiver Quentin Johnston, and cornerback Donte Jackson. They also listed backup quarterback Trey Lance as doubtful, and five other players (including top WR Ladd McConkey) as questionable.

Beyond this week, the Broncos are expected to get Surtain and Moss back within a few games, as their issues are not considered long-term. RB Jonah Coleman is also eligible to come off IR in Week 7.

What This Means for Week 5

Such as they did against the Niners, with Surtain and Moss out of the lineup, the Broncos will turn to reserve cornerbacks Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine to contain a depleted Chargers receiving corps.

Both players held their own in Week 4 and the coaching staff is confident that will persist moving forward.

“They’re savvy players, they both have good football instincts and IQ," head coach Sean Payton said of Barron and Abrams-Draine on Wednesday. "One of the reasons you draft at that position is because it’s hard to find in free agency. So both were ready when they needed to be and that’s encouraging.”

With Bryant absent, Denver could lean more heavily on little-used WRs Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin while attempting to get veteran Courtland Sutton going following a slow start to the year. It, too, is possible -- if not probable -- that quarterback Bo Nix sprinkles a few additional targets to running back RJ Harvey, who's currently the club's leading pass-catcher.

“Some of it’s the soft zone coverage that went underneath," Payton explained Wednesday. "There are probably five different reasons to the team we played. Certainly, you come away from that game as a coach and you’re like, ‘All right, we have to find more touches for Courtland for “X” amount of receivers, even when they’re in these deeper zones. We’ll be able to do that, but we start with a mirror right away with ourselves. So we know he can be a factor for… He doesn’t have to be just outside, he can be inside depending on the route.”

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