The Broncos are going to be without TE Lucas Krull for multiple weeks at least and plan to place him on injured reserve with a foot injury, sources told The Denver Post.
An IR placement would knock Krull out for a minimum of four games.
Krull didn’t practice Friday, and the team ruled him out on the final mandatory injury report of the week.
Krull will not make the upcoming road trip with the team, sources say. Denver is traveling to Philadelphia late Friday for Sunday’s game and then continuing on to London for next week’s matchup against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Krull’s injury likely means a few weeks’ absence, sources said, so the team plans to put him on injured reserve with a return designation. An IR stint means Krull would be out a minimum of four games. The Broncos hadn’t officially made the move by Friday’s transaction wire deadline, but the club usually makes IR placements on Saturday before games anyway.
Krull was listed as a full participant in Thursday’s practice, but a source said he reported a foot injury later in the day and had an MRI that revealed a fracture.
Krull has two catches for 15 yards this year and led Broncos tight ends in receiving last year. He was a game-day inactive Monday night, his first time this year not being dressed for a game.
Denver had three tight ends up in Evan Engram, Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins.
**Healthy otherwise:** First-team All-Pro right guard Quinn Meinerz practiced fully on Friday, one day after he missed practice with an illness. Meinerz is full-go for Sunday’s game, as is every player on the Broncos’ 53-man roster besides Krull.
**IR wait continues**: The writing’s been on the wall this week, but Denver does not appear poised to activate either DL Malcolm Roach (calf) or ILB Drew Sanders (foot) from injured reserve this week.
They are each eligible to return at any point going forward, but neither practiced this week.
**Unique schedule:** The Broncos had a unique setup to their short week of preparation, and now set out on a very long road trip.
Payton kept the team on its normal day-after-game schedule Tuesday and then gave the players Wednesday as an off day, meaning they only had two full days of practice in Denver.
The team travels to Philadelphia late in the day on Friday and then will have a Saturday walk-through that Payton indicated will be more intense than normal, given the short week.
“The research is all based on the recovery, and then what’s very overrated is — the day before an event you can still get going,” Payton said Thursday. “The mistake 20 years ago was (Tuesday) they’re off and then Wednesday (practice) and all of a sudden you’re wondering why the practice isn’t as (sharp).
“The time after the game is more valuable than the day prior to the game. We can do more on Saturday and be just fine for Sunday, but hurrying back (is bad). I’ve just found this is something that’s worked pretty well.”
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Originally Published: October 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM MDT