Schlereth: ‘Complete mismanagement’ by Broncos with Leary’s role
Dec 13, 2017, 12:00 AM | Updated: 2:06 am
The Denver Broncos officially shelved offensive lineman Ronald Leary for the remainder of the season on Tuesday, placing the guard on injured reserve with a back injury.
It marked the sudden end of Leary’s 2017 campaign, one in which Mark Schlereth said he believes was mishandled by the Broncos in terms of the veteran blocker’s role along the offensive line.
The “Schlereth & Evans” host said on Tuesday it was “complete mismanagement” on Denver’s part to put Leary, who had played his first five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys at left guard, on the right side.
“He should have been your starting left guard, and you should have dealt with it on the right side any way you dealt with it. Whoever can win that job wins that job,” Schlereth said. “But that’s what Ronald Leary should have played.”
The move was made to allow guard Max Garcia to play on the left side, a position in which head coach Vance Joseph said during preseason he was “more comfortable” playing.
“To accommodate Garcia, who apparently can’t play right guard at all and is more comfortable on the left side, they play him at left guard and make Leary change positions,” Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s Clough said Tuesday.
It’s a move, Clough said, that not only impacted the play on the offense as a whole but the development of rookie left tackle Garett Bolles, who would have been positioned next to Leary should he have played left guard.
“Cris Collinsworth may well be right on regarding Garett Bolles, whom he described, in the Sunday Night game here against New England back on Nov. 12, as an unpolished gem. And he could well be that,” Clough said.
“We might have seen less of the unpolished part and more of the gem part this year if Ronald Leary had been playing left guard, his natural position, instead of right guard.”
Leary’s placement on IR should give first-year pro Connor McGovern a chance with the first-team offense at right guard, just a piece of the lineup Clough said the Broncos should feature moving forward.
“… If Leary can come back next year, they should probably line up, health permitting, with Paradis at center, McGovern at right guard, and Leary at left guard,” Clough said. “Why they didn’t do that this year is one of the many personnel mysteries, odd decision making, that has beset the Broncos all year long.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
