Broncos placing rookie RB Coleman on injured reserve

Last week, the Broncos finished off the Jaguars in large part because rookie running back Jonah Coleman was able to deliver some late-game haymakers to Jacksonville’s fatigued defense. And then he showed a veteran’s intelligence to hit the ground in-bounds just before the two-minute warning after picking up a first down, allowing the Broncos to run out the clock.

In a game that featured his first professional carry, reception and touchdown, he did plenty of things right — especially after No. 1 running back J.K. Dobbins succumbed to what was announced in the press box as a hamstring injury.

But the next steps in Coleman’s blossoming will have to wait, as the Broncos placed the fourth-round pick hit injured reserve on Saturday due to what ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported as a high-ankle sprain.

Coleman will miss at least the next four games, meaning he could return by the Week 7 contest at Arizona.

The University of Washington product was on the field with teammates at the start of each practice this week for stretching, but was officially designated with a “DNP” on the daily practice reports issued by the team. The Broncos ruled him out for this weekend on Friday.

Meanwhile, Dobbins and RJ Harvey — who injured his hamstring in Week 1 and missed last week’s game — both had full practice workloads by the end of this week and are expected to play Sunday.

No. 4 running back Tyler Badie is likely to continue being activated; after being deactivated in Week 1, he played in Week 2 while Harvey was sidelined and had a 27-yard receptions.

BRONCOS FACED A ROSTER CRUNCH THIS WEEK

The decision to place Coleman on injured reserve also opens up a roster spot — and in terms of their overall roster construction, this is significant.

Fullback Adam Prentice and long snapper Mitchell Fraboni have been elevated from the practice squad for each of the last two weeks. But there is a league-mandated limit of three practice-squad elevations per player each season, meaning that each was down to his final elevation and would need to move to the 53-player roster in order to be used in the balance of the season.

Fraboni moved to the 53-player roster in the spot cleared by Coleman going to injured reserve.  The Broncos will use Prentice’s final elevation of the season Sunday.

Prentice is their only fullback and Fraboni is their sole long snapper, so it wasn’t a matter of “if” they would return to the primary roster, but “when.” For the former, that will likely arrive in Week 4; for the latter, it happened Saturday.

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