ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Another day, another major injury concern for the Denver Broncos.
On Wednesday, unfortunately, it was a double dose of bad news.
Dalton Risner, who is dealing with a foot injury, and Graham Glasgow, who is dealing with a knee injury, will not practice on Wednesday. If that wasn’t concerning enough, they are both questionable for Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Vic Fangio announced.
Denver could be without their two starting guards on the interior of their offensive line when they face the Ravens, who have a stout front seven led by Denver-native Calais Campbell.
“We don’t like to see anybody get hurt, just on a personal basis before you even start thinking about the football part of it,” Vic Fangio said on Monday, discussing how the team has been hit with multiple injuries in the first quarter of the season. “[The depth is] getting tested a little too early, but we are a deeper team than we have been in the past, and I think we’ll be able to absorb it.”
If neither guard can play, the Broncos will turn to their two young reserves in Quinn Meinerz and Netane Muti.
In Sunday’s dominant 26-0 win over the Jets, Denver went from having great depth at the interior of the offensive line to none. If Muti and Meinerz are called on to start, the Broncos don’t have a single backup interior offensive lineman on their 53-man roster as of Wednesday. Denver would call up Austin Schlottmann, who they protected on their practice squad on Tuesday, to be the backup center/guard.
Fangio stated the offensive line depth is “getting tested a little too early for my liking,” but added, “if you can bring in a guy like Muti and Meinerz, that’s good.”
As they did against the Jets when the came in off the bench, Muti would fill in for Glasgow at right guard and Meinerz would take Risner’s spot at left guard.
Denver’s starting guards have a combined 108 starts under their belts—Glasgow has 73 and Risner has 35. The rookie, Meinerz, and second-year guard, Muti, have a career total of two starts. Muti has both of those.
Because of that, more pressure and responsibility would be placed on second-year center Lloyd Cushenberry and Teddy Bridgewater. However, Fangio added that Muti and Meinerz “got to stand up and play their position” too.
Youth, inexperience and talent will highlight the Broncos’ interior offensive line on Sunday if Risner and Glasgow can’t play.
Last year, the Broncos drafted Muti in the sixth round out of Fresno State. However, if it weren’t for multiple devastating injuries throughout his career, Muti likely would have been a first or sound-round pick.
“I’m a fan of his. I think he’s an NFL player,” Fangio stated about the 6-foot-3, 315-pound guard. “He can go in there and play guard any time we want. If he has to play some this week, he’ll be ready.”
Meinerz also potentially slipped in the draft this year since he was coming from a Division III program that didn’t play last year due to Wisconsin-Whitewater’s season being canceled to COVID-19. The Broncos were able to draft him in the third round.
However, because of all of those circumstances, the 6-foot-3, 320-pound guard is still very raw. Fangio said that showed up in the 25 offensive plays he had against the Jets.
“Some good, some not so good,” the head coach said, evaluating the Rookie’s first NFL action. “But that’s kind of the way you expect it to be.”
After playing guard at Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Broncos wanted Meinerz to learn the center position after drafting him. But with injuries to both guards, he’s now focused on his original position.
“It’s been good. It’s been steady,” Fangio said on Meinerz’s development this year. “If he has to play this week, getting all the reps in practice, he’ll be ready.”
The good news about both Risner and Glasgow’s injuries is neither is season-ending and neither will be placed on the injured reserve, as DNVR learned on Tuesday.
The bad news is the interior of the line has struggled this year even with Risner and Glasgow. Despite facing a Ravens team that is typically strong against the run, Fangio said the Broncos’ running game can still have success on the ground, even if their two starters are out.
“Now, the Ravens historically are very tough to run on. They have big defensive linemen, and they have good players,” Fangio explained. “Their scheme is hard to run on at times, but we’re going to have to find a way to grind some yards out of there.”
Speaking of the ground game, there was a dash of good news on the injury front on Wednesday. Mike Boone was designated to return from the injured reserve and will return to practice this week after missing the first three games with a quad injury suffered in the first preseason game. He is eligible to play in Sunday’s game if the team activated him to the 53-man roster.
Boone’s presence could help lift a rushing attack that could very well be relying on two young guards starting.
Risner has not missed a start in his NFL career. If his first comes on Sunday, the Broncos will be turning to inexperience and talent at one or both guard spots in an effort to stay undefeated.
