Broncos should hear alarms ringing following early injuries at weak spot on roster

The Denver Broncos have only had three full training camp practices and already, two of their inside linebacker have suffered injuries. 

Drew Sanders was taken off the field on Friday, and it has been reported that he will miss several weeks with a foot injury. That's certainly a better diagnosis than many first feared, but it's still an injury for a guy who could not afford another one. 

"The news for us was good, in that it's a ligament in his foot and it's not a tendon. What does that mean? It's going to be certainly north of four to six weeks, but the tendon is what we were concerned about. I'm not going to try to spell it, but the ligament repair is a much easier one than that of a tendon. We were all pretty happy with that", said Sean Payton. 

While it's not a season-ending injury, it's going to put Sanders at risk of missing the start of the regular season. 

On Monday, starting inside linebacker Alex Singleton broke his thumb. While it's not the end of the world, it's still another injury for a player who missed most of last season with a torn ACL. 

The inside linebacker position came with a lot of questions this offseason, almost all of which were related to the injury history of these players. Dre Greenlaw — one of the top free-agent signings any team made this offseason — could be a perfect addition to this defense. However, he will also need to prove that he can be consistently available. 

These injuries should be concerning for all involved because the team is not loaded with depth behind them. The other inside linebackers on the roster as Justin Strnad and four undrafted free agents, Levelle Bailey, JB Brown, Karene Reid and Jordan Turner. 

READ: Former Broncos linebacker facing career-threatening situation

Bailey had a fantastic preseason last year and ended up seeing some time on the active roster. All of Brown, Reid and Turner are capable of doing the same this summer. Still, it would be wise for the Broncos to be looking for a player who can step up and play big if the team has any more injuries at this position, particularly those that lead to a great deal of missed time.  

The Broncos have a chance to have one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2025, but injuries to players who have been plagued by the injury bug could become the team's Achilles heel. 

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