Broncos key safety will miss extended stretch, team adds RB

The Denver Broncos will be without one of their top contributors for the stretch run; the team placed starting safety Brandon Jones on injured reserve on Monday.

Jones underwent an MRI examination on Monday after suffering a pectoral-muscle injury during the first half of Sunday’s 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was first to report news of Jones’ MRI. The diagnosis is unknown, but the Broncos’ reaction tells us clearly that it was bad news.

Seven-year veteran P.J. Locke, a Broncos first-teamer at safety last year and for the second half of the 2023 campaign, filled in for Jones and played “real well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said.

Jones and free-agent pickup Talanoa Hufanga have combined to create one of the NFL’s most dynamic safety pairings this season.

“I like the way they’re playing,” Payton said last week.

But now, the Broncos will have to make do without half of that combination for at least the next four games, which could mean Jones is out to the AFC Championship Game — if Denver gets that far.

The Broncos filled Jones’ spot on the roster with running back Cody Schrader.

The former Division II athlete turned Missouri walk-on earned consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC honors after his last year in Columbia. Schrader signed with the 49ers out of college but quickly landed with the Rams, bouncing around on their roster before the Jags got him, then it was the Texans’ turn most recently.

Schrader rushed 446 times for 2,372 yards and 23 touchdowns during his two years at Missouri. The Broncos have been looking to add to their running back room since JK Dobbins went down. Last week the team picked up Sincere McCormick to their practice squad.

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