Broncos Injury Update: Latest on Denver’s RB Trio & Rams’ Top Weapons

RJ Harvey is coming off the first missed game of his young NFL career, while J.K. Dobbins got banged up in the Broncos' Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and was unable to finish the game. Meanwhile, there's no rest for the weary, as the Broncos will host the Los Angeles Rams in a primetime matchup on Sunday Night Football.

Wednesday gave us our first look at how the Harvey-Dobbins situation is shaping up, while also revealing an ankle injury to Broncos rookie running back Jonah Coleman. On the other side, the Rams are pretty beaten up, too, with a few star players on the injury report.

Let's take a look at the Wednesday practice report for both teams as we begin to preview Broncos-Rams.

Broncos' Practice Report

Limited

J.K. Dobbins | RB (Hip)
RJ Harvey | RB (Hamstring)
Marvin Mims Jr. | WR/R (Foot)

Did Not Partcipate

Jonah Coleman | RB (Ankle)

Analysis

Bo Nix hands off to Jonah Coleman. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let’s start with Coleman. Like Dobbins and Harvey, he was out on the field, warming up and stretching, but he didn’t participate in the actual practice. Early in Week 2’s game, Coleman entered the blue tent with trainers, but eventually returned and closed out the game, doing some hard running in the fourth quarter and scoring the Broncos’ go-ahead touchdown.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Coleman suffered the ankle injury early in Week 2, but was able to keep playing on it. It’s the type of injury where it hurts initially, sure, but when a player wakes up the next morning, it becomes much more apparent.

Head coach Sean Payton refused to discuss the injury outlook of Coleman or any of his players, but he did express his belief that the Broncos will be “good” at running back. That stops well short of a guarantee that any of them will play, especially after Denver worked out three running backs on Tuesday.

It’s good news that Harvey and Dobbins were able to participate in practice, even if limited. We’ll continue to monitor each day’s practice report, but I’m going to err on the side of optimism with Denver’s top two backs for Week 3, though it won’t be a surprise if Dobbins plays but only sparingly.

In other good news, Mims returned to practice after missing last week’s game. He’s still dealing with the foot injury he suffered in the preseason finale.

The Broncos could really use their All-Pro returner on special teams, especially against an opponent like the Rams. Field position will be crucial, and Mims can help flip it.

Wednesday's #LARvsDEN injury report:

📰 » https://t.co/g3r1PB2g9m pic.twitter.com/IRkYaTBIyB
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 23, 2026

Rams' Practice Report

Limited

Nate Landman | LB (Shoulder)
Terrance Ferguson | TE (Ankle)
Alaric Jackson | OT (Knee)
Kam Kinchens | S (Hamstring)

Did Not Participate

Puka Nacua | WR (Hip)
Colby Parkinson | TE (Knee)
Jordan Whittington | WR (Quad)

Analysis

Puka Nacua. — Puka Nacua stiff-arms Dre Greenlaw in the season opener. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nacua’s injury will be worth monitoring. Already, there’s buzz that the star wideout could miss another game, though head coach Sean McVay has said no such thing.

"Usually time is the best thing that allows that thing to heal. And then once you get to a certain point, then I think you feel pretty good moving forward,” McVay said of Nacua on Wednesday via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop.

Both of the Rams’ top tight ends are also injured, with Ferguson limited and Parkinson a DNP. Parkinson has appeared in both games thus far, and caught two passes for 15 yards on Monday night.

Ferguson caught six passes for 54 yards and a touchdown against the New York Giants last week, so both tight ends can gash the Broncos, especially with a quarterback like Matthew Stafford. The Broncos have traditionally struggled to cover pass-catching tight ends, so Vance Joseph will have to be on high alert in this one.

This may be the time for Joseph to get Jahdae Barron on the field and use him as a tight end neutralizer, as the Broncos did at times last season with modest success. Barron has been iced out of the defensive mix thus far, but it won’t be a surprise if he sees plenty of action in this game.

Lastly, keep an eye on Jackson’s knee injury. He’s the Rams’ starting left tackle, which means he’ll be going against Nik Bonitto on Sunday. That’s a critical matchup to watch.

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