The Broncos will be without outside linebacker Baron Browning not just this weekend, but for at least the next four games.
Denver placed Browning on injured reserve Saturday and promoted wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey to the active roster to take his place, according to the league’s transaction wire.
Browning, 25, missed all but 12 snaps of Denver’s Week 2 loss to Pittsburgh after injuring his left foot and had already been ruled out of Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton left the door open for an IR placement for Browning on Friday, saying “we’ll see” when asked if it was a possibility.
Now the soonest he can return is Week 7 for a Thursday night game at New Orleans. Browning is the second starter Denver lost for at least four weeks against Pittsburgh. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey was placed on IR earlier in the week with a left MCL sprain.
Humphrey has played in all 19 Broncos games dating to the beginning of the 2023 season despite starting each year on the practice squad. He’d already been elevated from the practice squad each of the past two weeks and had one elevation remaining. Instead, now he’ll be a member of the active roster going forward.
Denver also elevated running back Tyler Badie and safety Tanner McCalister from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. Badie was up last week, too, and got one carry for 16 yards. McCalister played in three games for Cleveland last year and has been on the practice squad since the beginning of the season.
Locke fined twice. The loss to Pittsburgh was costly to Broncos S P.J. Locke, too, but in a different way.
Locke was fined twice on the same fourth-quarter play in which he was ruled to hit Steelers WR Calvin Austin III while he was defenseless. Then Locke threw his helmet in frustration after the play. The NFL knocked him $13,972 for each and a total of $27,944. Players can appeal fines.
Broncos center Luke Wattenberg also got docked $5,872 for an illegal blind-side block.
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