WRS Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler out again vs. Carolina
Neither of the receivers have practiced at all the past two weeks
The Broncos will play again without multiple top pass-catching options Sunday.
Head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Friday ruled out wide receivers Jerry Jeudy (ankle) and KJ Hamler (hamstring) for the team’s Week 12 game against Carolina, meaning Denver will again count on Courtland Sutton and a cast of young, inexperienced receivers on offense.
“Those guys are both very talented players and we want them out there when we can get them healthy,” Hackett said. “But we’ve got guys that are ready to go and ready to rock, so we want to make sure that we’re ready to attack with those guys as well.”
This will be the third consecutive game Hamler has missed since pulling his hamstring in the middle of practice leading up to Denver’s Week 10 matchup at Tennessee. Jeudy went down on that game’s first play, grabbing at the back of his ankle. Hackett has referred to him as “day-today” since, but neither of the receivers have practiced at all the past two weeks. Hamler did conditioning and agility work on a side-field Friday before practice and Jeudy watched in sweats.
“It’s just the injury that he had,” Hackett said of Jeudy. “He’s working through that so he can get back to the field.”
Hamler spent the offseason rehabilitating from knee-and-hip surgery, then missed Denver’s Week 2 game and played just 23 snaps over the next two weeks before building into something like a regular role.
Jeudy missed all but 10 snaps in the team’s Week 2 win against Houston after taking a shot to the ribs, but other than that has been available. Even still, the pair will now have missed six combined games and most of three others. That’s on top of Tim Patrick missing the season to a torn ACL suffered in training camp.
Jeudy has 30 catches for 449 yards and three touchdowns while Hamler has seven for for 165.
In their places, Denver will count on a collection including Kendall Hinton, fifth-round pick Montrell Washington and undrafted rookies Jalen Virgil and Brandon Johnson. Johnson, Hackett said, will be elevated from the practice squad for the second straight week.
“(Johnson) was doing a great job (and) we all saw it in training camp,” Hackett said. “He earned his way up to get reps with (the first team) at times. Then he had the opportunity to come back here and was in great shape. For a young guy, that’s always a great thing to see. He was able to stay with the offense, so he didn’t have to relearn anything. We were able to implement him in right away.”
Wilson earlier this week said he was happy for the young guys getting a chance to play.
“The young guys are looking so great. They’ve stepped in there,” he said. “We’ve got so many new faces, but the good thing is they’re getting that experience. Going back to my rookie year, to be able to get that experience — guys like Virgil, guys like Montrell and Brandon and some of the other guys — it’s good and it’s going to turn for good. Hopefully that can happen this week.”
Denver has a similar mash unit working at running back in the wake of Melvin Gordon’s release and Chase Edmonds’ placement on injured reserve. Latavius Murray will be the lead back, Marlon Mack the No. 2 option and Devine Ozigbo elevated for game day, Hackett said.
Injury updates: Defensive back K’waun Williams (knee) and lineman Jonathan Harris (knee) are also out for Sunday’s game, while tight end/fullback Andrew Beck and outside linebacker Jonathan Martin (knee) are questionable.
On the side field Friday, a trio of injured players working back from injured reserve did conditioning and agility work. That group included right tackle Billy Turner (knee), center Lloyd Cushenberry (groin) and running back Mike Boone (ankle).
Boone is eligible to return next week against Baltimore if his ankle is healthy enough and could be designated to return to practice early next week. Cushenberry is eligible to return the week after and Turner cannot return until Week 15 at the earliest.
Not spotted Friday was outside linebacker Randy Gregory, who has been on injured reserve with a knee injury since Week 5 and remains week-to-week as he tries to find consistent progress in his rehabilitation.