Broncos need injury-plagued veterans to find good health

As the Denver Broncos enjoy some much-needed rest, several players should take it as an opportunity to heal up ahead of training camp and the oncoming challenge of a National Football League season. Injuries are a part of the business, but injuries to veteran players impact the team exponentially.

DeMarcus Ware has already been sidelined, Mark Sanchez hasn’t played a full season since 2012 and Brandon Marshall is coming off an injury-plagued year in which he never played at 100 percent. These three vital positions, coupled with their individual leadership will need to come out in training camp and establish a healthy beginning to a perilous NFL year.

Ware is an incredible athlete. He currently sits 11th all-time in sacks in the NFL and his leadership is invaluable and unquantifiable. For that reason alone, the Broncos need him on the field and earning his newly-negotiated base $7 million contract.

However, the early signs of his health are not good. He missed nearly the entire offseason program with back ailments, the same ailments that kept him out of five games during the 2015-16 season, limiting him to just 7.5 regular season sacks. Head coach Gary Kubiak is optimistic that Ware’s troubles are not serious yet admitted he would be very limited through the summer.

“The back has been bothering him,” Kubiak said plainly June 7. “We’ve been keeping him inside. There’s been some real positive news in the last four or five days that kind of have been working towards some things that have been helping him out, so I think he’ll move in the right direction.”

The following days before break, Ware did not practice, and it remains unclear when he will be ready. The Broncos will obviously hope to have Von Miller on the other side and Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray to play more and more as they progress and Ware obviously begins to play less at age 33. If he cannot get on the field for training camp in late July, the concern from not only Kubiak but the rest of the team will surely escalate.

Sanchez is another veteran of the NFL that has been recently sidelined with injuries. As he competes for the starting quarterback position, he cannot afford to miss any of training camp. While the coaches at UCHealth Center continue to encourage an open competition at quarterback they would certainly hope that the most experienced of the three can carry them through their title defense this season.

Sanchez began his career in starting all but two games from 2009 to 2012. In 2013 his problems began and have compounded. He missed the entire 2013 season with a preseason shoulder injury and also hand orthoscopic knee surgery. In 2014, his first season in Philadelphia, he played in nine games, starting eight before but could not perform well enough to maintain the starting job. Last season, he began the year on the bench behind Sam Bradford until an injury gave him another shot at the starting job. He lasted only three games before being benched, subsequently ending his time with the Eagles.

In his short time with the Broncos he already has undergone thumb surgery on his non-throwing hand, which took him out of multiple practices and limited him at mandatory minicamp. His insistence to quickly get back on the field says it all. He understands the competition he is up against and how important every single rep is. After a great start to his career followed by three forgetful seasons, Sanchez is ready for a fresh start.

“I think it’s a new lease on my career. What a place to land,” Sanchez said June 14. “A quarterback-friendly system, a great defense, great special teams, a good running game, receivers that can go catch the ball and a revamped O-Line. I don’t know what else you want. Like I said, I knew coming in here there were a lot of things already in place. There was a big question mark at quarterback, and we’re just trying to erase that. Put my best foot forward and help this team win.”

Lastly, Marshall, the new $32-million man has recently had 1.5 screws removed from his foot after a late 2014-15 foot injury forced him to undergo surgery. He played through immense pain and earned himself a nice contract. He was the second-leading tackler on the road to the Super Bowl and now is as important as ever. In early June he described the current health of his foot.

“I had surgery in March on it, but they left half of one in there,” Marshall said June 1. “They left half of it because they said that if they would’ve went in and fished for it or gotten it out, they would’ve had to use a bone graph, and they would have to go around the screw to create an even bigger hole. I would have been out like three to four months instead of four weeksMy foot feels pretty good. It feels better than it has. Because they said it takes a year—the doctor said it usually takes a year for these injuries to heal correctly. It’s been a year and I feel really good now.”

With just a few weeks from training camp, the hope is he will now be pain-free and can even top his performance from the past two seasons. The important reason to watch his health is the fact that the inside linebacking core is as thin and as inexperienced as any position on the roster. His partner inside, Danny Trevathan left via free agency, and only Todd Davis has any significant experience on the team inside. Dekoda Watson, Corey Nelson and Zaire Anderson are the early contenders for the another starting job inside and the backup roles.

If Marshall were to go down at any time this season, it would be a significant blow to the middle of the team’s formidable defense. When training camp gets underway, it will be interesting to see how Marshall hits the field after being limited in the offseason due to contract talks. If he can match his performance last year, the Broncos would be thrilled, and if he can exceed it, he may be in line for a Pro-Bowl season.

The Denver Broncos nursed injuries throughout last season and even had some players exit the season prior to training camp in 2015. They were lucky to go relatively unscathed through their exciting season. The Broncos who have a recent history of injury are also leaders at vital positions. The Broncos and their fans will get an up-close look at whether these three players, in particular, are truly ready for the another grind.