Broncos cornerback Riley Moss has been ruled out of Monday night’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Moss did not practice this week due to a knee injury, which he suffered in the second quarter of Week 12’s win over the Raiders. Head coach Sean Payton said the former Iowa standout injured his MCL and there were talks about getting him back in the game. However, he remained sidelined while veteran cornerback Levi Wallace filled in, playing 49 defensive snaps.
Moss was the only member of the active roster not present during the viewing period of Saturday’s practice.
Wallace, who spent the past two seasons in Pittsburgh, could be in line to make his second start of the season. With cornerback Pat Surtain II out with a concussion in last month’s win over the Saints, he stepped in at outside cornerback, totaling a game-high eight tackles in 66 defensive snaps.
In other injury news, Denver’s defense will get reinforcements in the trenches with Zach Allen (heel/ankle) expected to play on Monday night. The starting defensive end missed his first game as a Bronco last week but has been a full participant at practice this week.
Wide receiver Josh Reynolds (hand) is questionable to play. Reynolds returned to practice earlier this month after being placed on the injured reserve last month after undergoing minor finger surgery. He sustained the injury while falling to the ground following his touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the team’s Week 5 win over the Raiders.
The veteran wide receiver was also shot in an incident that occurred around 3 a.m. Oct. 18 in Denver, according to an affidavit filed against one of the accused in late October. The shooting happened after he and two other men were followed upon leaving Shotgun Willies, a strip club in Glendale, according to the affidavit.
The Broncos have until Tuesday to decide whether to activate Reynolds from injured reserve.
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Payton on the upcoming bye week: Payton is not concerned about the Broncos having a drop off in production after the bye week. He said good teams know how to return from the week off and maintain their high level of play.
“You’ll hear all the things (like) cold weather is hard…When they play (on the road). Generally, the good teams dispel all those things and the teams that aren’t so good, gotta remove the narratives,” Payton said. “I think they’ll handle it well.”
Last year, the Broncos had a bit of success coming out of the bye week. They won three straight before losing by five points on the road against Houston. As the Saints coach in 2021, Payton’s team lost five of seven games after the bye week before finishing the year at 9-8. However, in 2020, New Orleans won nine straight games, with seven of those wins coming after having a week off.
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