Boone injury cracks door back open for Freeman
Aug 13, 2021, 7:18 PM
Recently relegated to fourth on the Denver Broncos depth chart, running back Royce Freeman appears he’ll hang onto a roster spot a bit longer at the expense of fellow rusher Mike Boone.
Boone, who had been having a standout camp to this point, pulled up with a quad injury on Thursday during joint practices with the Vikings, one so bad that he needed a cart to get back to the locker room.
Sources tell 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis that Boone will be sidelined with the strain for four to six weeks, bumping Freeman up a spot on the depth chart.
Head coach Vic Fangio said after practice on Thursday that Freeman “has had a good camp” as well, calling him a “very smart football player.”
“(It’s his) second year in this system, and Royce is a really good back, and he’s definitely an NFL quality back,” Fangio said. “We’re happy to have the amount of backs that we have. We have a good crew of running backs.”
Though Freeman will fill that third running back role behind the one-two punch of Melvin Gordon III and rookie Javonte Williams, Boone’s injury is still a blow because of the “change of pace” he offered.
“Mike is an explosive runner, and he’s different from what we have — a little bit more of a change of pace,” Paton said before practice on Thursday. “He can take it to the house. He has the most speed of any of our backs. I think he’ll help us in the pass game. I mentioned before, he’s a four-phase teamer, which is vital for your backup running backs.”
But, as the idiom goes, it’s the next man up. And for Freeman, that means a reprieve from the trading block or the axe come roster cutdowns.
