Isaiah Thomas

The Broncos endured a scare yesterday when new offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was rolled up on in camp. According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, it sounds like they avoided disaster as their starting right tackle only suffered a sprained knee.

Denver brought on McGlinchey, who was one of this offseason’s most prized free agents, at the open of free agency, shortly after also signing former Ravens guard Ben Powers. It showed how serious the team was about bulking up their offensive line to protect a veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson, who struggled last year in a new system.

Luckily, it sounds like McGlinchey avoided serious injury. This shouldn’t end up anything like the torn quadriceps injury that cut his 2021 season short. Klis claims that McGlinchey should only miss two to three weeks. He’ll have to take it easy for the entire preseason, but he should be ready to make his Broncos debut in the team’s season opener against the Raiders.

In the team’s first released depth chart of the season, veteran swing tackle Cameron Fleming is listed as McGlinchey’s primary backup. He should get a good run over the next few weeks in case McGlinchey’s recovery leaks into the regular season.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:

• The Browns also experienced a couple of minor scares when two second-year defensive ends went down with “significant knee injuries,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Both Alex Wright and Isaiah Thomas suffered injuries this week that had head coach Kevin Stefanski thinking they would each “miss an extended period of time.” Luckily, ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided an update today that, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery, both players are expected to return “early in the season.” Although Wright started five games last year, both players are considered rotational backups. The position’s depth takes a hit, but the stars are still there.
• Cleveland is down another second-year player in running back Jerome Ford, who is reportedly “week-to-week” with a hip injury, according to Browns staff writer Anthony Polsal. Although Ford’s main contribution as a rookie came returning kickoffs, he’s been expected to take the next step at running back this year with the departure of Kareem Hunt. He had been “receiving a considerable amount of reps” in camp before limping off the practice field on Monday. The team will turn to Demetric Felton, John Kelly, and undrafted rookie Hassan Hall in Ford’s absence, but they believe there’s a chance Ford could be back by Week 1.
• Saints second-year wide receiver Rashid Shaheed missed another practice today, according to NOF Network. The surprise rookie contributor from last year has been missing a bit of time through camp with a groin injury. The report claims that, while Shaheed is expected to miss a few weeks, he should be ready to go for the team’s regular season opener.
• The Panthers depth at wide receiver took a hit yesterday as veteran Damiere Byrd suffered “a significant hamstring injury,” according to Joseph Person of The Athletic. New head coach Frank Reich says that Byrd could need surgery. If so, it’s expected that the wideout would “miss at least eight weeks.” The new-look top-end remains the same with free agent additions Adam Thielen and DJ Chark and second-round rookie Jonathan Mingo. Behind them, Carolina still sports a strong backup group including Terrace Marshall, Laviska Shenault, Shi Smith, and others.