Henderson absence from Broncos camp only leaves WR further behind

When training camp kicks off at UCHealth Training Center on Friday, among the most hotly contested roster spots on the team may just be in the wide receivers room.

But with a lot of talent and only a handful of roster spots at the position, second-year wideout Carlos Henderson likely will start out camp losing ground to his peers.

Henderson will not be on the field come Saturday, as the Broncos placed him on the reserve/did not report list Wednesday.

According to 9News’ Mike Klis, Henderson is on the exempt list as he deals with a family and personal situation.

Broncos WR Carlos Henderson will start training camp in exempt list as he’s dealing with family and personal situation. Agent Erik Burkhardt “We’ve spoken to Coach Joseph and the organization and they are fully aware of this and have been supportive.” #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) July 25, 2018

“Carlos understands the importance of this training camp for himself and the team, and he looks forward to returning to the field with his teammates soon,” Henderson’s representative Erik Burkhardt told Klis.

But “soon” won’t prevent Henderson from falling behind in an already tight race for roster spots, “Pritchard and Cecil” host Mike Pritchard said Wednesday.

“Family situations that’s the priority, certainly. And (with) the exempt list, your focus is somewhere else at this moment. So, thoughts are with Carlos Henderson in that regard,” Pritchard said. “But from a professional standpoint and from the Broncos standpoint that train is moving, and so Carlos Henderson is going to be further behind.”

And it’s not as if the “Broncos are devoid of talent at the wide receiver position,” Pritchard’s co-host Cecil Lammey said.

“It’s pretty deep right there. That room is crowded,” Pritchard said. “The thing about the wide receivers room that people need to realize is it’s a number game and whether or not it’s a five-person room or a six-person room.

“Because you go one through four you know who it is. It’s Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, and DaeSean Hamilton.”

So is there room for Carlos Henderson on the roster at the current time?

“Not if he’s dropping further and further behind. If you drop back and you can’t catch up to everybody else, then no,” Pritchard said. “That’s hard. That’s going to be difficult.”

Henderson missed all of his rookie season in 2017 due to a thumb injury and was sidelined for much of mandatory minicamp last month with a hamstring.

Head coach Vance Joseph said at the time that Henderson has “to get back on the field if he wants to make this football team.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.