Lammey: Sanders going down is ‘one injury too many’ for Broncos

On its own, the season-ending Achilles injury suffered by Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is a “gut punch,” a “kick in the midsection,” says Cecil Lammey.

But the “Pritchard and Cecil” co-host said on Thursday that with the litany of hurting Broncos, Sanders’ injury is “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

“That was just one injury too many. That’s what it is with the Emmanuel Sanders injury. I mean, you can only take so much,” Lammey said. “Broncos Country, you can only take so much of these injuries.”

Lammey called it “crushing” to see the Broncos bitten by the injury bug and killing the “positive momentum” built up during the past few weeks as Denver’s once again become contenders for a playoff berth.

“I just don’t know how you keep pushing and keep contending for the postseason when you lose one of your best players offensively,” Lammey said.

Among the Broncos injury casualties lie six players who at one point started for Denver this season — tight ends Jake Butt and Jeff Heuerman, guards Max Garcia and Ron Leary, center Matt Paradis, and Sanders.

Even before Sanders’ injury, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Zach Bye said on Monday that the Broncos may have won the battle last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals but the war may be in jeopardy, referring to the fractured fibula Chris Harris Jr. suffered in the game.

After the game, head coach Vance Joseph said the team hadn’t flinched when three offensive line starters went down and they wouldn’t flinch with Harris going out for potentially the remainder of the regular season.

On Wednesday, after Sanders suffered the tear, Joseph said, “We can’t cry about it. We have to move on and go play a football game on Sunday.”

However, Lammey’s co-host, Mike Pritchard, said on Thursday that he’s not feeling “doom and gloom” about Sanders’ injury, though it does “stink.”

“I’m not putting dirt on (Sanders) because I think the Broncos will miss him. But, I also know that this train still moves and it still goes forward, and if you’re prepared mentally and physically, you can step in and do some good things to help this team win,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard said in his experience with the NFL, if teams think their young talent is on par with the rest of the league, it is then just about getting them ready and pushing them out the door.

“You have to turn the page and you have to move on, and somebody’s going to have to step in,” Pritchard said.

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