Broncos OLB Gregory set for knee scope, will miss multiple weeks

Denver is going to be without Randy Gregory for multiple weeks, but it’s not expected that his season is done.

Gregory, who signed a five-year deal with the Broncos worth up to $70 million last spring, suffered a knee injury at Las Vegas that could put him on short-term injured reserve, head coach Nathaniel Hackett said Monday. But Hackett left open the possibility Gregory could be brought back slightly sooner than four weeks.

“He’s going to have to get a scope and we’ll be able to see what’s going on inside there and we’ll find out more as the days come forward,” Hackett said.

Gregory was rushing Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on a third-down play in the fourth quarter Sunday when he popped up and grabbed his right knee. As trainers attended to him, the outside linebacker slammed his helmet to the turf in frustration, though he indicated to reporters in the post-game locker room that he was “fine.”

“It’s hard because he’s been such a great force on this team,” Hackett said.

Gregory at least avoided structural damage to his right knee, which gives him the chance to return to action later in the season.

“The ACL is OK, we’ll now have the scope and we’ll get more information from there on where we go,” Hackett said.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder was off to a solid start for Denver, accumulating a pair of sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in his first four games with the franchise.

Gregory had surgery on his left knee back in January and then a shoulder operation in the spring. That combination kept him out of Denver’s entire offseason workout program and resulted in him being limited through training camp and most practice days early in the season.

In his absence, the Broncos will rely even more heavily on second-year outside linebacker Baron Browning, the sixth-round pick out of Ohio State, and second-round rookie Nik Bonitto.

Wilson limited. Denver didn’t practice Monday, but if it had, quarterback Russell Wilson would have been limited by a shoulder issue.

“As of now, he’s playing,” Hackett said flatly regarding his quarterback’s status for Thursday.

Wilson took a hard shot Sunday from Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.

“He got dinged up in the game and he’s just a little sore today, so we’re going to be sure to take care of him,” Hackett said. “We’ll get him treatment throughout the week.”

Other injury statues: No practice: Quinn Meinerz (hamstring), Jonathon Cooper (hamstring), P.J. Locke (concussion), Aaron Patrick (concussion) and S Caden Sterns (hip/chest).

Limited: Receiver Tyrie Cleveland (hamstring), nickel K’waun Williams (wrist), left guard Dalton Risner (ankle), running back Melvin Gordon (neck), offensive lineman Billy Turner (knee), cornerback Darrius Phillips (limited). the Saints’ game-day roster for their game Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings in London and he gained 57 yards with a touchdown on 11 carries. It was the 50th regularseason touchdown of his career.

So he’s ready -- even if it may be unrealistic for him to play in the Broncos’ next game Thursday against the Indianapolis Colts. Besides, playbook reasons, it may not be wise to have a 32-year-old running back play Sunday in London followed by a game 4 days later in altitude. The Broncos do have a plan in place, however, to get Murray up to speed quickly.

“The standpoint of bringing in a running back, anytime you bring somebody in, it’s always hard to get them caught up with everything,’’ Hackett said. “We have a nice little learning platform for guys, because this is what happens in the league. No matter what happens, you’re going to have some injuries. Guys are going to come in, they’re going to help you right away and so we have a nice little, like I said, a learning platform, interactive stuff that we’ve put together so that they can start learning the system like it was day one.”

Even if Murray doesn’t play Thursday, he addresses other issues at the Broncos’ running back position going forward. After Gordon, who has a history of fumbling problems, fumbled twice in the Broncos’ 11-10 win last week against San Francisco, head coach Nathaniel Hackett was planning to use the veteran sparingly in the Broncos’ game Sunday at Las Vegas.