Bryce Callahan has not played in a game since early December 2018. The Broncos cornerback is tentatively on track to finally return to action, however.
Second-year Denver defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said Callahan is working at full speed after missing his first Broncos season with more foot trouble, per Denver7’s Troy Renck (on Twitter). Callahan endured multiple setbacks last year, dealing with the foot problem that ended his Bears run late in the 2018 season.
This would be big news for a Broncos team that has fully moved on from its accomplished No Fly Zone secondaries. Denver allowed All-Decade corner Chris Harris to walk in free agency and will count on Callahan and trade acquisition A.J. Bouye to lead their new-look group at the position.
The Broncos signed Callahan to a three-year, $21MM deal in March 2019. He aggravated the foot he broke in his final days with the Bears at multiple junctures last year, however, going down in training camp and then experiencing more pain after practicing on it last November. The Broncos placed him on IR shortly after the latter aggravation, and he underwent a second foot surgery. Callahan’s absence limited the team in coverage last season.
Prior to his foot trouble, the former UDFA became one of the league’s better slot corners while working under Donnatel and Vic Fangio in Chicago. Although the Broncos traded for Bouye, the rest of their corner group remains uncertain. They used a third-round pick on Iowa corner Michael Ojemudia, but the team has seen multiple third-round corners — Brendan Langley (2017) and Isaac Yiadom (’18) — fail to impress as pros. Callahan, now 28, enduring another setback would likely force the team to survey the cornerback market.