Which injured player will the Broncos miss most — Heuerman or Barrett?

After a signature win on Sunday against the Pittsburg Steelers, two injury announcements dampened the mood Monday in Broncos Country as the team revealed tight end Jeff Heuerman is out for the year after suffering three broken ribs and a bruised lung while linebacker Shaquil Barrett may miss up to a month with a hip flexor.

Both sides of the ball take a hit for the Broncos, but “Schlereth and Evans” debated which injury would cause Denver the most damage on Tuesday.

“The bigger injury is Shaq Barrett. That’s just because what he’s been able to do for this team,” said Orlando Franklin, who was filling in for Mark Schlereth on Tuesday.

Franklin said Denver will miss Barrett because of his ability to rush the passer and his role in the Broncos “hybrid” package for third-and-long situations.

“Just his ability to get to the quarterback, whether he’s at the defensive tackle position or the defensive end position,” Franklin said.

Also, Franklin pointed to Denver’s tight ends room, saying that there’s not a “play-making” guy to miss from that position.

“It’s not like you’re losing a Julius Thomas and now, all of a sudden, you’ve got to roll with just Virgil Green, where there’s a big dip in play right there,” Franklin said.

However, “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mike Evans disagreed with Franklin, saying Heuerman is the “more important loss” because of his budding relationship with quarterback Case Keenum.

“Case Keenum’s got a tight end who he can look to and trust, and we’re seeing Case Keenum play his best football since Minnesota. Now all of a sudden that guy’s taken out of the mix? I think that’s rather significant,” Evans said.

And “at the end of the day,” Evans said, Barrett is “still a rotational guy.”

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