Report: Broncos Starting WR to Miss Time After Finger Surgery

The Denver Broncos will have to figure out how to make up for the loss of Josh Reynolds.

Sep 22, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds (11) makes a catch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos will be without a starting wide receiver for the foreseeable future. NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported on Friday that Broncos wideout Josh Reynolds underwent finger surgery and is expected to miss some time.

According to Wilson, the surgery was minor, and Reynolds could return by the end of October. Still, given that Denver has to quickly turn around following Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Chargers to play the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football, it seems likely Reynolds will miss at least the next two weeks.

The injuries for the Broncos starters are starting to add up. While Denver avoided the injury bug at an incredibly high rate in 2023, fortune may not be on the team's side when it comes to holding off dings and bruises for this season.

With injuries mounting along the offensive line with right tackle Mike McGlinchey on injured reserve with an MCL sprain, Alex Palczewski and Luke Wattenburg on the injury report this week with ankle injuries, and swing tackle Quinn Bailey fracturing his ankle in practice back in July, Denver is losing another key contributor on the offensive side of the ball.

For a team rather desperate for playmakers to step up in the passing game to help give quarterback Bo Nix easy answers in the passing game, losing Reynolds for a few weeks could hamper Denver's offense and the rookie's progress in the short term. Considering Denver is set to go against the second-best defense in EPA/Play in the Chargers on Sunday (and the seventh-best defense in the Saints on Thursday), any loss of contributors could be very detrimental for an offense that hasn't played well overall or consistently thus far.

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However, injuries occur in the NFL. To expect Denver to be one of the least injured teams in the NFL year after year is an unreasonable ask. Instead, the team will need to take a “next man up” perspective and hope to find answers to bridge the gap until Reynolds returns in a few weeks.

Who is in line for a larger role in the offense? The trio of Marvin Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, and Devaughn Vele will likely be called upon to shoulder more of the offensive burden in the short term.

Mims had a lot of hype this offseason, but he has yet to truly deliver on his second-round draft pedigree and be more than a gadget player and clear-out route runner in the offense. Franklin has deep speed, but in last week’s game, he showed what plagued him in the offseason at camp with his case of the 'dropsies.'

Vele showed some promise in Week 1, but after suffering an injury, his role from that first game as a “big slot” seems to have been overtaken by Lil’Jordan Humphrey, who has played well overall. Perhaps it will be the running backs or even the tight ends who absorb more of the target share now that Denver is even thinner at receiver with more relative unknowns, but just like Palczewski stepped up and played shockingly well in place of McGlinchey, maybe one of the young receivers can run with the opportunity as well.

Reynolds isn't exactly a difference-maker or superstar at receiver, but this team still needs him. Beyond Courtland Sutton, the Broncos simply lack the known quantities and quality at receiver based on the unit's play to date. The positive spin is that there is now a golden opportunity for a young playmaker to emerge for a team desperate for a guy like that.

Hopefully, one of the Broncos' recently drafted young receivers can make the most of this chance and carve out a larger and more valuable role on the offense going forward.

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