The Denver Broncos‘ wide receiver room looked to potentially be in dire straights earlier this week, with Pro Bowler Courtland Sutton not practicing and Jaylen Waddle â whom the team gave up a first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for â was seen limping at Broncos practice on Thursday.
Sutton cleared up his injury status whilst speaking to the media, claiming that he himself was “indubitably” healthy, and that he was only being kept out of practice at this early stage of camp in order to ensure he was able to stay fresh further down the line in what the franchise hopes will be another deep playoff run.
Waddle, on the other hand, was diagnosed by Payton â who as ever gave up as little information on the injury as possible â as having a “strain” on Thursday.
The good, or at least better news is that Payton also revealed that Waddle would be back in “four to five days”.
“He’s got a strain, I think we’ll see him back in the next four to five days.” Payton said to the media after the injury.
Waddle is thus expected to be back to full activities early next week.
The receiver room continued to be in disarray on Friday when receiver Marvin Mims Jr. pulled up limping after running a deep route during practice, and was seen holding his upper leg.
The team have not released further information pertaining to Mims’ situation at this time.
What Will the Broncos be Expecting From Jaylen Waddle?
Waddle was always expected to be an integral part of Denver’s passing game, but with the injuries starting to form it feels like his contribution may be more needed than otherwise expected.
Even sans Mimsâ although the hope is that he too will return in due course â the Broncos have an excellent receiving corps with Waddle, Sutton â who made his second Pro Bowl this past season â and the emerging Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant, the latter of whom has shown out considerably during the early parts of training camp.
Waddle is a certified speedster who ran sub-4.4 at his combine back in February 2021.
Temperamental quarterback play and general offensive dysfunction have limited his offensive output over the past couple of seasons, but before that the Alabama man opened his NFL career with three straight 1,000+ yard receiving seasons, including a 1,356 receiving yard, 8 touchdown sophomore season in 2022 that somehow failed to land him a Pro Bowl nomination.
The combination of the deep threat of Waddle; who can also function masterfully in taking underneath and short routes; and the experience and pedigree of Sutton could give defensive coordinators real trouble throughout the season, as long as both remain healthy.
Bring in the contributions of Bryant and Franklin, and quarterback Bo Nix may have a tray of delights at his disposal in the passing game.
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