Broncos Notebook: Injury bug starting to bite

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — “We’re clean,” Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph had the pleasure of saying before and after Week 1, but in adding, “We’re lucky,” he knew his team’s clean bill of health wouldn’t last forever.

Unfortunately for the Broncos, it didn’t even last another week.

On the bright side, none of the injuries appear to be of the long-term variety, but the long battle against the injury bug has begun.

Just in Case

Broncos starting quarterback Case Keenum was held out of practice on Wednesday due to soreness in his knee.

Fortunately for the Broncos, Keenum claims it’s no big deal.

“I could’ve practiced today,” he said. “I wanted to practice, but they wouldn’t let me. So, a good mental day. [I’ll] come back and be ready to go tomorrow.”

Asked if there was any worry regarding his starter playing on Sunday, Joseph gave a swift and strong, “No,” but, in case of emergency, put his faith in backup Chad Kelly.

“He looked fine. He should be,” the head coach said of Kelly’s work with the ones. “He’s our two, and if he had to play, I have no worries.”

For now, no need to worry about Keenum, but if for some reason he doesn’t go on Thursday, you are free to get a little worried.

Another Rookie in the Mix?

During Sunday’s game, cornerback Tramaine Brock was forced to fill in for late-offseason acquisition Adam Jones, when Jones had his hamstring tighten up on him.

Jones was not practicing on Wednesday, and while Vance Joseph didn’t offer anything other than the fact that Jones was dealing with a “sore thigh,” the words of Chris Harris Jr. were more telling.

“We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be up this game,” he said. “I know ‘Pacman’ is a little shaky, but I think [CB Tramaine] Brock and [CB] Isaac [Yiadom] can come in and fill in well.”

While Denver may not need him much, if at all, Yiadom was far from a shining star in the preseason. While he was often in a good position to make a play, he too often failed to make that play, and too often allowed his man to make a big play.

Now, after being inactive for the first two weeks of the season, the third-round rookie may be asked to step in.

“When you don’t play in — I think it’s been two or three weeks — that’s hard,” Harris Jr. said, adding another level of difficulty to the rookie’s slate. “Just getting back into game shape, getting back in the game mode. I think he’ll be ready, hopefully. He might have a chance to get out there and play with ‘Pac’ being hurt, so he has to be ready to go.”

The Broncos have already gotten massive contributions from their rookie class, and they may be asking for even more on Sunday.

Billy on the Spot

The last of the significant injuries that the Broncos are dealing with has been the most publicized, and rightfully so. After looking like an elite right tackle over the course first game and a half over the season, Jared Veldheer left Sunday’s game with a concussion and had been in the league protocol ever since.

Veldheer was not present at practice on Wednesday, and Vance Joseph said after practice that he has not yet been cleared for any physical activity.

“He’s progressing,” the coach added. “So we’ll see on Friday how much he can do on the field.”

If Veldheer can’t go, it will be Billy Turner holding down the right tackle spot, a spot he did a nice job in on Sunday.

“Last week, you look up, and Billy Turner is in the game, and I don’t think anybody even noticed,” Keenum said Wednesday. “That’s a good thing. You hate having somebody get hurt, but a new right tackle comes in, and we don’t miss a beat. We go down the field and score every drive. I think that says a lot about us. Not just one guy, it’s that group as a whole that’s doing a great job.”

Of note: Linebacker Brandon Marshall was also out on Wednesday with what Vance Joseph called a “sore knee.”

Follow @RyanKoenigsberg and @ZacStevensBSN on twitter for the most up-to-the-minute updates on the injuries throughout the rest of the week.