Broncos injury update: Griffith says he feels ‘fantastic,’ but Jewell is limited

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — All signs point to inside linebacker Jonas Griffith being good to go for the Broncos on Monday night.

Griffith, who suffered a dislocated elbow Aug. 13 against Dallas, had a full practice workload Thursday. It was his first full-tilt work since the injury,

“Feeling fantastic. Ready to go, ready to get after it in practice,” Griffith said before the session.

“They gave me a timetable of four to six weeks, and I told them, ‘I’m playing Week 1, no matter what,'” Griffith said.

Of course, it’s one thing to say that you can come back in four weeks. It’s another to actually do it.

“I told the doctor, ‘I’ll try to do whatever I can to get out there,'” Griffith recalled. “They had a good game plan for me. I tried to follow it as best as possible.”

For Griffith, the process began a few minutes after he suffered the injury, when team medical personnel popped the dislocated elbow back into place.

“I was in a lot of pain when it happened, but when it got popped back in, it was a relief,” Griffith said. “But it swelled back up like a balloon.”

So, it took time for the swelling to ebb. The injury had to heal; that consumed the first week of the rehabilitation process. Then he wore a massive brace on his elbow he could continue to work on the joint while ensuring he didn’t exacerbate the situation.

“It was a protection thing, so it didn’t get overextended too soon,” Griffith said of the brace.

Then, it was off to work.

“Just moving it and strengthening it a lot,” Griffith added “Because I think when you’re injured, it gets a little stiff and weak, as well. Getting the strength back and the mobility back is huge.”

And getting Griffith back is potentially huge for a defense that saw two first-teamers limited Thursday: edge rusher Randy Gregory (shoulder/knee) and ILB Josey Jewell (calf).

Jewell was a surprise inclusion on the post-practice injury report.

WR KJ Hamler (knee/hip) and RT Billy Turner (knee) also saw limited work.

All Broncos players were present and accounted for when the practice got under way.

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