Report: Denver Broncos lose impact defender to serious injury

The Denver Broncos have a lot of questions on their front seven and there’s one more with Monday news; how will the team replace Drew Sanders?

Mike Klis from 9News reports that the 2023 third-round pick out of Arkansas has torn his Achilles. Klis says that the injury occurred while Sanders was participating in the Broncos’ offseason program late last month and the defender subsequently underwent successful surgery. Historically the injury would mean at least a year of downtime but at 22 and with some recent medical advances Klis says the Broncos hope to possibly get Sanders back late in the 2024 season.

The NFL Draft hinted that the Broncos may be moving away from prioritizing Sanders, though we didn’t have the reason at the time. The team selected outside linebacker Jonah Elliss in the third round to bolster a group of Jonathon Cooper, Baron Browning and Nik Bonitto. The team also added veteran defender John Franklin-Myers during the Draft.

Sanders plays both inside and out but Denver sees him as a starter long term and probably back on the inside. He played both in college, getting 9.5 sacks and an interception in his final season of SEC action. And at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds with a 4.59 40-yard dash, it’s understandable why the Broncos like the kid. Sanders stayed on the field too his rookie year, playing 17 games with four starts and getting 24 tackles.

The Broncos front seven struggled at times last season and with Josey Jewell now gone and Sanders hurt, Alex Singleton, Cody Barton, Jonas Griffith and Justin Strnad will be tasked with stepping up.

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