Here's how the Broncos will try and function without Jurrell Casey

The Broncos will play the rest of the season without their highest-paid defensive lineman, now that Jurrell Casey is on the shelf because of a torn biceps muscle. They will also play at least the next two games without three of their top five defensive linemen, since Dre’Mont Jones and DeMarcus Walker are already on injured reserve.

In two games, perhaps their deepest position group became among the most vulnerable, adding more warm water to a hurricane of injuries that threatens to wipe out the Broncos’ hopes for 2020.

So now what?

First, expect to see more combinations involving Shelby Harris and Mike Purcell in pass-rush situations.

The Broncos worked Purcell into packages beyond his base-package work at nose tackle down the stretch last year and in the first three games this season; this is why he has played at least 50 percent of the snaps in each of his last nine regular-season games after seeing more than half of the snaps in just one of his first six games after he moved up to the first team in Week 5 of the 2019 season.

Harris has been the saving grace for the Broncos’ battered defensive line.

Playing in a contract year for the second consecutive autumn, his $3-million, 1-year deal is proving to be the best value of the Broncos’ spring free-agent haul to date. He already has two sacks, giving him eight in his last 14 games dating back to last season.

“His weight is down a little bit, which is allowing him to move better and utilize his quickness and strength more often than he was able to in the past because he’s not as fatigued,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said. “I think it’s a tribute to all the hard work he put in in the offseason and he’s been able to sustain it here during the season.”

That hard work for Harris involved having a workout area installed in home so he could stay in shape as the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled in-person OTAs and shuttered team facilities.

Now, it’s paying off individually. But he will have to carry a heavier burden without Casey there to draw attention.

Second, prepare for more work from DeShawn Williams and McTelvin Agim. Williams played 27 snaps Sunday and batted down a pass.

“I think for where he was at with no training camp and as a guy who hadn’t played a lot of football of late, he went in there and held his own and did pretty damn good,” Fangio said. “Obviously, we need him to do more than he did and hopefully now that he starts getting more reps, he’ll be able to do that.”

Agim played nine snaps after being inactive in the first two games of the regular season. While he was explosive in training camp, he didn’t do enough to beat out Walker in the coaches’ eyes.

Deyon Sizer, a CSU-Pueblo product who plays five snaps last December against Kansas City and was re-signed to the practice squad last week, could also move up to the 53-man roster and fill out the rotation for Thursday night.

When Jones returns, he should go back into the starting lineup in place of Casey, which would allow the Broncos to return to some sense of normalcy up front.

But without Casey, the Broncos now must function without two of their projected top three pass rushers, since Von Miller is also on injured reserve.

The absence of Casey might not be noticeable against the sagging New York Jets. But two of the three games that follow are against the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, two explosive teams that Denver must now try to disrupt without Casey’s ability to draw double-teams and penetrate the pocket from the interior.