Broncos' Jake Butt suffers season-ending injury

Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt tore his ACL during a Thursday’s practice, the team announced. The injury will end his season.

This is a huge blow for the Broncos who are now without their best receiving tight end and are severely lacking in depth at the position. Butt’s injury now pushes little-known third-stringer Matt LaCosse into action.

Butt was Denver’s third-leading receiver in 2018 with eight receptions for 85 yards.

This is an especially tough blow for the second-year tight end after he missed his entire rookie year recovering from an ACL injury he suffered on his final game at Michigan.

This marks yet another blow to the Broncos 2017 draft class. Butt and backup quarterback Chad Kelly were the only remaining picks on the active roster to have been picked after the first two rounds. Second-round pick DeMarcus Walker has yet to appear in a game this season, and first-round selection Garett Bolles had his worst outing of the season in Week 3. Butt was the one shining contributor from the class and is now lost for the season.

As the Broncos offense struggled in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, finding Butt’s replacement and being able to still play with two tight end sets will be crucial for the attack.