Frank Clark will be sidelined for a few weeks. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Broncos defensive end will miss “a couple weeks” after suffering a hip injury during yesterday’s practice.
Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like this is a long-term issue, and there’s been no indication that Clark will land on injured reserve. Per Rapoport, the veteran is considered week-to-week.
The former Pro Bowler was cut by the Broncos back in March before eventually landing in Denver. As Troy Renck of Denver7 notes, Clark has struggled to establish a role in Denver, with the 30-year-old serving as a situational pass rusher during the season opener. Clark finished that contest with a pair of tackles while appearing in 25 defensive snaps.
This comes with Baron Browning sitting on PUP, so Clark’s role could be made even more uncertain when his teammate returns. A few weeks off the field probably won’t help his case for a significant role in Denver.
2022 ended Clark’s three-year stretch of earning Pro Bowl nods, but he was still productive with the Chiefs. In 15 games, the pass rusher compiled 39 tackles and five sacks. He showed up during Kansas City’s run to a Super Bowl championship, collecting another seven tackles and 2.5 sacks in three games.
More injury notes from around the NFL…
- Greg Dulcich is once again dealing with a hamstring injury. After missing seven games for the Broncos during the 2022 season, the tight end will once again miss multiple weeks while dealing with a hamstring injury in the same leg, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The organization intends to take it slow with Dulcich, meaning it could be a bit before he returns to the field. The 2022 third-round pick finished his rookie campaign with 33 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns.
- A trio of Eagles players were ruled out early for Thursday Night Football. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported yesterday that running back Kenneth Gainwell (ribs), cornerback James Bradberry (concussion), and safety Reed Blankenship (ribs) would all be sidelined for Philly’s Week 2 matchup against the Vikings. The Eagles did get some good news, however, with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox being declared active for tonight’s game after being listed as questionable with a rib injury.
- Rams wideout Puka Nacua didn’t practice today thanks to an oblique injury, according to Schefter. The rookie fifth-round pick was a standout during his NFL debut, garnering 15 targets from Matthew Stafford. Nacua ultimately finished the contest with 10 catches for 119 yards. With Cooper Kupp sidelined, the Rams may need to dig into their wide receiver depth against the 49ers.
- Patriots cornerback Jack Jones landed on injured reserve before the season opener, keeping him off the field for at least the first month of the season. Per Albert Breer of TheMMQB, the 2022 fourth-round pick has an injury split in his contract, meaning the organization can lower Jones’ base salary from $870K to $475K as long as he sits on IR. That ends up being a loss of $22K per week for Jones.
I think it should read Frank Clark was cut by the Chiefs.
Frank Clark (who was cut by the Chiefs, not the Broncos) isn’t going to be enough in the long term to boost that pass rush. Gregory is going to have to live up to his (in my opinion ill advised) deal, and Browning is going to have to come back strong. Cooper is a useful player, but it doesn’t look like he’ll lead the pass rush. Bonitto is a former second round pick, so it would be good for Denver for him to show production as well. Right now, it just seems that the Broncos have a collection of good-not great players crowding the position, and they’re going to need someone to seize ownership of that role.
Surtain is wonderful, but the other side will need pass rush support to compensate for limitations in coverage. Surtain himself can’t cover forever, either. Denver’s pass rush is going to have to step up, and Clark as a rotational rusher is likely not the guy to set the tone for the others. I don’t think that Denver is bad on defense, but it seems that they’re going to need a playmaker or two to take ahold of the pass rusher role to stay a top defense in the league. Gregory doesn’t seem he’s it, and neither does Clark.
Eagles Defense looked strong even with all the 2nd and 3rd string defensive substitution vs Vikings.