According to NFL Network’s lead league insider Ian Rapoport, Denver Broncos star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle suffered an aggravation of his previous chest injury during Sunday’s victory over the Cardinals. Rapoport added that Waddle’s availability this week will be based on how practice goes.
As we know, Waddle injured his shoulder on a late 4th-quarter reverse call where Waddle bobbled the ball and landed hard on his chest/shoulder when the ball was recovered. After the play, Waddle slowly got up and was clearly in pain. After the game, Broncos head coach Sean Payton called the play “dumb” and asked the media why they didn’t ask him about the play call.
“Why didn’t anyone ask me about the dumb reverse call? That was one of the first calls. Okay, me
will answer. Everyone is asking questions. It was terrible. I’m sorry If you look at it — in 2008, in a
similar situation, albeit a more radical reverse, (former Saints RB Reggie Bush) fumbled (at) Tampa Bay
beat us I know better. Every now and then you fall in love with a play. That would be nice
question.”
Fortunately. Waddle’s injury appears to be a short-term thing, and there is hope that he will be able to play against the Chiefs on Sunday. However, we will have to pay attention to this week’s injury report to determine his status. Klis said he will be questionable, but it seems his availability will come down to pain tolerance. We don’t know the exact chest/shoulder injury he suffered, but he was limited for two practices before practicing fully on Friday. So, we have to see if Waddle is limited for practice today or not. A DNP to start the week would not bode well for his availability on Sunday.
This game against the Chiefs is going to be a big game. First, the Broncos will look to bounce back after their embarrassing Week 1 loss to the Chiefs to open the season. More importantly, if the Broncos win this game, they will move to the top of the AFC West. A loss would put them at 5-3, two games behind the Chiefs in the loss column, and they would have a tie-breaker due to an in-season sweep of the Broncos.
So, this is a bit of a must-win game for the Broncos if they want to win the AFC West.
Hopefully, Waddle can come and play with this injury, but we’ll have to wait and see. The Broncos have their first practice of the week today and we’ll see if they can practice today or not. Stay tuned to the Mile High Report for today’s injury report and any and all updates on Waddle’s status for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.