Phillip Lindsay expected to miss time with turf toe injury

Phillip Lindsay might miss time due to turf toe.

The Denver Broncos’ new-look offense proved that they still need to work out the kinks, as they mustered just 14 points at home against the Tennessee Titans in a Monday Night Football loss. Running back Phillip Lindsay’s plans for another excellent 2020 season were quelled by another injury coming back to hurt the Broncos.

Ian Rapoport is reporting that Lindsay’s turf toe might be severe enough to sideline him for several weeks. Considering how Denver already lost Von Miller for the season while seeing cornerback AJ Bouye and wide receiver Courtland Sutton go down due to injury, Vic Fangio might need to think about hitting the panic button soon.

Phillip Lindsay was supposed to form a nasty 1-2 punch at running back with Gordon

Despite the fact Denver was shifting to a pass-happy offense under new OC Pat Shurmur, Lindsay, a former undrafted free agent who has topped 1,000 yards on the ground in each of the last two seasons, was supposed to combine with Melvin Gordon to give Denver’s running game some juice. He mustered just seven carries for 24 yards against the Titans.

The most likely candidate to replace Lindsay’s touches is 2018 third-round pick Royce Freeman, who fell almost completely out of favor under Fangio last season. While a powerful runner, he is nowhere near the big-play threat and receiver Lindsay is.

Losing Lindsay in their backfield is less than ideal for Denver considering their upcoming schedule, which features games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Drew Lock and the offense still have plenty of talent on the roster, even without Lindsay. In the ultra-competitive AFC West, the Broncos need to step on the gas pedal and make good on all that offseason hype if they want to stay in the playoff picture.