Broncos’ Sanders to miss rest of season
Although the schedule gets easier for the Broncos this month, the degree of difficulty in reaching the playoffs keeps going up.
The Broncos (6-6) lost leading wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for the rest of the season after he suffered a torn left Achilles tendon during a non-contact drill at the beginning of practice Wednesday.
The Broncos quickly claimed receiver Andre Holmes off waivers from the Bills, giving them a seventh-year veteran to go with their four remaining receivers, all of whom made their debuts this season.
Sanders, who led the team with 71 catches for 868 yards and four touchdowns in a bounce-back year, was injured on a routine route. He sensed the gravity of the injury as he crumbled to the ground, tearing off his helmet and rolling it away as teammates and trainers rushed toward him.
“It didn’t look good,” coach Vance Joseph said.
Sanders’ injury was the latest blow to a team that’s lost seven starters from its Week 1 lineup.
“It hurt ... ” rookie receiver DaeSean Hamilton said. “He was our leader and he was a coach, too, so it was hard to watch.”
Trubisky ready? Bears quarterback Mitche Trubisky said he’s “really close to 100 percent” and expects to play against the Rams on Sunday night after missing the last two games because of a right shoulder injury.
He went through a full practice Wednesday. Assuming no setbacks, he figures to start when the NFC North leaders host the NFC West champions.
“I just gotta show coach that I can play,” he said. “I’m feeling good about where I’m at.”
Nagy said he feels “strong that he will play,” though he wouldn’t quite commit to it.
“I got to see more,” he said. “I feel good about it.”
Union backs ref: The NFL Referees Association is questioning why the league isn’t focusing more attention on Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes for threatening umpire Roy Ellison following Sunday’s game in Miami.
Ellison was placed on administrative leave while the league investigates Hughes’ accusation that Ellison called him a vulgar name during the game.
The union said it expects the investigation to clear Ellison while turning the focus on Hughes.
Extra points: S Landon Collins, the Giants’ leading tackler, will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery. ... The Rams will pay $24 million to personal seat license holders in St. Louis who filed a class-action lawsuit after the team moved to Los Angeles. The settlement notice was filed in federal court last week.