The Denver Broncos will need all hands on deck if they want to continue winning games at their current clip — they won their third consecutive game and improved to 3-2 on the season with a 34-18 win over their AFC West Division foe Las Vegas Raiders on October 6.
One key to that continued success will be protecting rookie quarterback Bo Nix and making sure a revitalized running game continues to chug along. That’s going to be hard to do with recent injuries to the offensive line, and Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine thinks the team should sign veteran offensive tackle Blake Hance off the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad and add him to the active roster to address some of those issues.
“The Broncos got the win (against the Raiders), but the offensive line took a beating in the process,” Ballentine wrote. “Alex Palczewski, who was stepping in for Mike McGlinchey who is on injured reserve already, left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Center Luke Wattenberg also left the game, leaving the Broncos even thinner up front than they were when the game started.
“Finding offensive line help during the season is never easy, but they might be able to find a player to poach from a practice squad. Blake Hance has been serviceable in spot-starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. It might be worth poaching him to the active roster.”
Breaking Down Bleak Situation With OL Injuries
Heavy.com’s Josh Buckhalter broke down the bleak situation with Denver’s offensive line injuries following the win over the Raiders.
“The Broncos signed (Matt) Peart in free agency during the 2024 offseason. A third-round pick in the 2020 draft by the New York Giants, Peart has logged seven of his 47 games played in his five-year career,” Buckhalter wrote. “Palczewski is also listed as the top backup at both guard spots on the Broncos’ official depth chart essentially weakening them in two positions.If needed, the Broncos also have rookie undrafted free agent Frank Crum on hand. Bo Nix’s college teammate at Oregon, Alex Forsyth, is the next man up at center. Forsyth was a seventh-round pick by the Broncos in 2023 and competed with the more experienced Wattenberg for the starting job in training camp.”
Hance Carved Out Career After Going Undrafted
Hance, 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, was a 4-year starter at Northwestern, where he started 46 games from 2015 to 2018 — including being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2015 after making 8 starts at left offensive tackle.
After going undrafted in 2019, Hance carved out a career as a journeyman offensive lineman over the last 6 seasons. He’s on his second stint with the Jaguars and has played for 6 teams in that stretch.
Hance has played all but 1 game in the last 3 seasons, including making a career-high 8 starts at right offensive tackle for the Browns in 2021.
The Broncos return to action in Week 6 against another AFC West foe when they host the Los Angeles Chargers on October 7 before a short week and a nationally-televised Thursday Night Football game at the New Orleans Saints on October 17, where Denver head coach Sean Payton spent 16 seasons as a head coach from 2006 to 2021.
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