Most impactful NFL training camp injuries so far
By John Buhler
45. . Nose Tackle. Denver Broncos. Phil Taylor. 1. player
The Denver Broncos are not going to win Super Bowl LI this February. Given their offseason losses on both sides of the football, Denver might not even be a .500 team this season. Their quarterback situation is in the hands of Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian, and rookie Paxton Lynch. This is a far cry from Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. Manning retired and Osweiler signed a massive deal to quarterback the Houston Texans
The Broncos defense will have to carry this team, even with key free agency losses like defensive tackle Malik Jackson to the Jacksonville Jaguars and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan to the Chicago Bears to play for his former head coach John Fox.
Yes, getting back star pass rusher Von Miller was totally worth it, not matter how excruciatingly painful his contract negotiations with general manager John Elway were, but the Broncos defense won’t be as historically great as it was just last year.
Given that the interior of their defense has been weakened by the Jackson and Trevathan losses, the Broncos signed former Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor to help in that regard. Taylor is a former first-round pick out of Baylor University by the Browns and could have been the beneficiary of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ play calling.
Unfortunately, Taylor has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in 2016 NFL training camp in his first season with the Broncos. Denver continues to spiral in the 2016 offseason. Not having Taylor clog the middle to stuff the run won’t be good for the Broncos defense in the long run this fall.
It’s a major injury to a role player that could yield brutal consequences for a defense-first football team that isn’t expected to do much on the offensive end. Denver could surprise us all and still win regardless of these myriad of setbacks, but that just doesn’t seem likely.
Next: 5 quarterbacks for Dallas Cowboys to target after Kellen Moore injury.
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