Broncos injury update: Randy Gregory ‘day-to-day,’ but still on IR

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When will Randy Gregory return?

He’s considered “day-to-day” by Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett. But seven weeks after Gregory suffered a knee injury in Las Vegas, the edge rusher remains on injured reserve.

“We’re working through that,” Hackett said Monday when asked whether Gregory could play this week at Carolina. “From the standpoint of when we can activate him, we want to make sure we do it the right way and make sure that he comes back when he is ready.”

With Gregory sidelined, Baron Browning stepped in as a starter. But he missed a pair of games with a hip injury. The trade of Bradley Chubb also impacted the edge-rusher complement; by Week 10 against Tennessee, Denver was left with Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto and trade-acquisition Jacob Martin as primary edge rushers.

In both Weeks 10 and 11, Dre’Mont Jones also saw work as a stand-up edge rusher.

Denver’s pass rush has struggled after a strong start. After generating one QB hit every 4.68 pass plays in Weeks 1-5, Denver’s rate dropped to one hit every 8.52 pass plays since then. The rate is one QB hit every 9.38 pass plays since trading Chubb.

Meanwhile, the Broncos will play without DL Jonathan Harris and RB Chase Edmonds for multiple weeks. Harris suffered a knee injury, while Edmonds succumbed to a high-ankle sprain.

Edmonds is “going to miss a lot of time,” Hackett said. With Edmonds injured, Mike Boone still on injured reserve and Melvin Gordon no longer with the team, the running chores Sunday are likely to be split among Latavius Murray, Marlon Mack and Devine Ozigbo, who is currently on the practice squad.

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