The Denver Broncos need everyone on the field to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Week 8 — especially after the shellacking the Chiefs handed the Broncos in the season opener, and because a Chiefs win would raise their odds of winning the AFC West Division to 83 percent.
The Broncos got some good news in terms of help winning the game with an injury update for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on Sunday morning.
“Broncos WR Jaylen Waddle, who has been dealing with a chest injury that he aggravated last week, is trending in the right direction to play, source says,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Sunday morning.
Waddle was hurt late in a Week 7 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
“Broncos WR Jaylen Waddle, listed as questionable for today, is trending toward playing vs. the Chiefs,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on Sunday morning.
Chiefs Demolished Broncos, Waddle in Week 1
The Chiefs opened the season with a 31-10 blowout win over the Broncos in Week 1 — a game in which Waddle had 1 reception for 2 yards on 3 targets.
Not really what you want for a player the Broncos gave up a 1st-round pick for in a March trade with the Miami Dolphins.
Waddle has grossly underperformed so far this year. Even though the Broncos are 5-2, Waddle has just 26 receptions for 276 yards and 1 touchdown— and he’s also struggled with drops so far.
Waddle Injured on Trick Play vs. Cardinals
The Broncos led the Cardinals 30-16 with under 5 minutes remaining when they called a reverse to Waddle, who was smushed into the ground by Cardinals defenders and appeared to injure his left shoulder.
“Jaylen Waddle down on the field after the gadget call,” Broncos reporter Andrew Mason wrote on his official X account. “Left shoulder into the ground hard. Very uncomfortable as he’s assisted off the ground.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton issued a mea culpa after the game for putting one of his star players at unnecessary risk.
“It was awful, I’m sorry,” Payton said. “It was dumb.”
“Sean Payton called the reverse that aggravated Jaylen Waddle’s chest injury ‘dumb’ … now Denver needs that same receiver healthy for its biggest divisional game so far,” Mega Maxing wrote on his official X account. “Waddle leads the Broncos with 276 receiving yards, while their second-leading pass catcher, RJ Harvey (217), just landed on injured reserve and must miss at least four games. Denver is 5-2, Kansas City is 5-1, and the AFC West lead is on the line. Getting Waddle onto the field would be a relief but having him healthy enough to make a difference is what really matters.”
Broncos Get Injury Update on WR Jaylen Waddle for Chiefs Game