With just four weeks left in the regular season, the Denver Broncos are losing one of their top defensive players for the remainder of the season.
The Broncos announced that they are placing defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones on injured reserve with a hip injury.
Jones was forced to miss practice all week with the injury. According to Mike Klis of 9News, Jones flew out of town multiple days this week to see two different hip specialists with the hope that he would be cleared to play this week against the Arizona Cardinals.
The injury is not severe enough to require surgery, but the recovery time is anywhere between four to six weeks.
With Jones’ season over, he left by leading the team in sacks with 6.5 and a career high 47 combined tackles. Jones also tied his career high in tackles for a loss with nine.
Placing Jones on injured reserve makes him the league-high 19th current player on IR for Denver, per sources. Broncos have had 25 players on IR this year. Jones is scheduled to be a free agent this off-season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Jones’ Broncos Career Could be Done
After the season, Jones is set to become a free agent because of his expiring rookie contract.
Klis said that Jones could command between $15 million and $20 million per year.
There have not been any rumblings suggesting that the Broncos have reached out or started negotiating a new deal with Jones’ agent about a potential contract extension.
Back in November, Jones was asked about his future with the Broncos and when asked if he wanted to stay in Denver and be there long-term, he responded, “I’m here right now.”
Dre’Mont Jones, asked about his expiring contract and his future:
In his four years with the Broncos, Jones has racked up 22 sacks in 56 games as an interior defensive lineman and averaged 33.2 tackles per season.
Broncos Activated Two Starters
The Broncos announced that they have activated outside linebacker Randy Gregory and offensive tackle Billy Turner from injured reserve to the active 53-man roster.
“We’re excited to see both those guys out there,” Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett said Friday. “It was great seeing Billy out there and watching him be able to practice and execute the plan this week. Then Randy, it’s great to see him. It’s been a while since he’s been out there. We’re excited to see what he can do.”
Gregory hasn’t appeared in a game since Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders after suffering a knee injury.
In the four games that he’s appeared in, Gregory has totaled up just two sacks, nine combined tackles, and seven quarterback hits. The former Nebraska Cornhusker has also forced two fumbles this season.
Turner on the other hand suffered from a knee injury as well and hasn’t played since Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans.
In his second time around with the Broncos, Turner has made three starts this season at right tackle.
With Turner out, the Denver offensive line has struggled to protect quarterback Russell Wilson. Cam Fleming and Calvin Anderson have been playing the tackle positions for the Denver offense.
Since Turner has been out, Wilson has been sacked 11 times over the past four games.
With Gregory and Turner returning, there’s a good chance that we can see some positives from the Broncos over the final four games of the season.
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Broncos Lose Defensive Starter and Sack Leader for Year