A Broncos training-camp star will make his regular-season debut Sunday
Nov 19, 2022, 3:24 PM | Updated: 4:21 pm
DENVER — Brandon Johnson was one of the brightest stars of Broncos training camp. Now, he receives his regular-season chance.
The rookie wide receiver and son of former Rockies catcher Charles Johnson will be in uniform Sunday as one of the two players the Broncos activated from the practice squad for the game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Injuries at the wide-receiver position necessitated the promotion. KJ Hamler and Jerry Jeudy will not play Sunday due to hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively. Versatile pass-catcher Kendall Hinton is questionable with a shoulder injury, although he practiced Friday.
With Tim Patrick on injured reserve due to a torn ACL, the Broncos have just three completely healthy receivers on the 53-player roster: Courtland Sutton, Montrell Washington and Jalen Virgil. Thus, the Broncos needed reinforcements, leading to Johnson’s expected debut Sunday.
Each practice-squad player can be activated to the game-day active roster three times, so Johnson has two activations left.
Johnson had 5 catches for 75 yards in the preseason games. He punctuated his August work with a 40-yard catch from Josh Johnson against the Dallas Cowboys. But the undrafted rookie from Central Florida wrote his story in training-camp practices. He worked his way up into the first-team rotation, displaying consistent play-making ability.
Heading into the preseason finale, Johnson was a favorite to earn a roster spot. But he suffered a high-ankle sprain in that game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos waived him with an injury settlement. They subsequently signed him to the practice squad Oct. 18.
The team made three other moves heading into the game against Las Vegas:
- They used a practice-squad elevation on ILB Harvey Langi. Denver needed another inside linebacker after Jonas Griffith aggravated his foot injury in practice Thursday. The Broncos placed Griffith on injured reserve Saturday. Langi and Justin Strnad are expected to back up Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton. The 30-year-old Langi has 40 career games of experience with the Jets and Patriots, including 2 games played for New England this season.
- They officially promoted Quinn Bailey from the practice squad to the 53-player roster. Bailey filled in at right tackle for the injured Billy Turner last week against Tennessee.
- Long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer returned to the active roster. He missed four games following thumb surgery. The Broncos designated him for return from injured reserve this week. His fill-in, Mitchell Fraboni, went on injured reserve this week.
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