The Broncos will be without a pair of key defensive players Sunday in their season opener.
The question now is how much time each will miss.
Denver ruled out inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad) and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach (calf) on Friday in moves that had been expected for each given the way the week has progressed.
Greenlaw didn’t practice at all this week and Payton indicated Monday that the team would take a “conservative” approach to the free agent linebacker’s workload.
“It’s a long season,” Payton said then. “So most important is having him not only healthy early on but for the long haul is the goal.”
Greenlaw originally hurt his quad in April. In May, Payton said he was showing “restraint” by not addressing a report from the Bay Area that Greenlaw could miss regular season time and said Greenlaw would be full-go by training camp. He was, but then on July 31 Greenlaw came up limping during a 1-on-1 drill. Payton said then that Greenlaw, “felt it got tight — a different area.”
Greenlaw didn’t participate in either of Denver’s joint practices or any of the three preseason games. After the joint practice with Arizona on Aug. 14, Payton said, “there’s some scarring, there’s some scar tissue.”
Greenlaw did more practice work the next week but didn’t play in the preseason finale vs. New Orleans.
He didn’t participate in practice at all this week and now will miss at least one game.
Justin Strnad is the likely next man up at inside linebacker, while undrafted rookie Karene Reid is also on the 53-man roster and Denver plans to elevate Levelle Bailey from the practice squad, a source told The Post.
Roach, meanwhile, left practice Thursday with what a source described as a Grade 2 calf strain. Dr. Kenton Fibel, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopedics in Los Angeles and the Anaheim Ducks’ team doctor, told The Post this week that a Grade 2 calf strain for an NFL player would likely result in an absence of “several weeks.”
Payton on Friday declined to provide any update on either player.
If Roach does indeed need several weeks, the decision will be whether the Broncos put him on injured reserve Saturday, which would open a roster spot but also mean he’s out a minimum of four weeks.
“The biggest challenge is returning an athlete to play without re-injury,” Dr. Fibel said. … “These calf injuries can happen with the spontaneity of the NFL and just making a reactive play. Those quick bursts are where you’re going to see a lot of these injuries happen.”
Roach’s absence likely means more work for Eyioma Uwazurike and Jordan Jackson on Sunday.
Uwazurike, veteran D.J. Jones said, is “an immovable object” when he uses his hands properly.
**Adkins out.** Broncos tight end Nate Adkins (ankle) is also ruled out for the game, as expected. Every other player is off the injury report and cleared to play, including OLB Dondrea Tillman, who was limited Thursday with a hamstring issue.
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Originally Published: September 5, 2025 at 3:15 PM MDT