Insider Provides Key Pat Bryant Injury Update—What It Means

Pat Bryant suffered a scary ankle injury in the Broncos' Week 4 loss to the 49ers.

Oct 4, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant (13) is carted off the field with an apparent injury during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Exhale, Denver Broncos fans. Second-year wide receiver Pat Bryant will only miss "a few weeks" with an ankle sprain.

ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news Monday morning, reporting that Bryant suffered an ankle sprain in the Broncos' 24-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Broncos WR Pat Bryant sprained his ankle during Sunday’s loss at San Francisco, and now is expected to miss “a few weeks” per source. pic.twitter.com/uwZA3UYou2

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2026

We're still awaiting an update on cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss, who exited Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium with a lower leg and rib injury, respectively.

Potential Timetable

Pat Bryant salutes after scoring against the Rams. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As for Bryant, "a few weeks" could mean two or three, or it could mean four-plus. If the Broncos expect it to be at least four games, they'll place him on short-term injured reserve.

Hopefully, it doesn't come to that, but even if it does, that would put Bryant back on the field somewhere around Week 9 and beyond. He'd still be back in time to contribute to the Broncos' stretch run, even if it's an IR designation first.

Bryant's injury occured on a 30-yard catch-and-run that helped set up a Wil Lutz field goal. Bryant finished the day with three receptions on three targets for 47 yards.

Beyond the running backs, Bryant and Jaylen Waddle have been the Broncos' passing attack. Courtland Sutton and Evan Engram have been disappearing acts thus far, while RJ Harvey caught as many passes against the 49ers as Bryant, Waddle, Sutton, and Engram combined.

How much of Bo Nix's checkdown obsession was game-plan oriented or quarterback-driven we don't know, but it became so predictable that even fans watching the game knew what was coming on a down-to-down basis.

Outside of Week 2, the Broncos' passing game has been anemic and frustrating to watch. We're mystified by this failure to launch, and it's hard to see it suddenly improving with Bryant being gone for the next few games.

Cold Water Thrown on Bryant's Year-2 Leap

Pat Bryant celebrates a first down. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A third-round pick out of Illinois last year, Bryant had an impressive rookie showing. He started off a bit slow, but as the season wore on, he slowly began to eat into Troy Franklin's snaps.

Bryant was on the cusp of doing great things when he suffered a brutal concussion in Week 16 that hospitalized him. He was back in time for the Broncos' playoff run, but another concussion, followed by a hamstring injury in the AFC championship game, sidelined him for most of it.

Entering Year 2, Bryant had one heck of a training camp, easily earned the No. 3 receiver spot behind Sutton and Waddle. Bryant was a big reason for both of Denver's wins this season, so he will be missed.

The Takeaway

Fortunately, the Broncos still have Franklin, who's very experienced for a third-year player, and Marvin Mims Jr. is healthy again. That gives the Broncos a four-deep receiver rotation, plus Lil'Jordan Humphrey is on the practice squad.

If Bryant ends up on short-term IR, expect Humphrey to promoted back to the active roster. We'll hopefully learn more about Bryant's outlook soon.

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