We Speak NFL
Jaylen Waddle’s Status Uncertain for Broncos’ AFC West Showdown With Chiefs
The Denver Broncos may have to face their biggest test of the season without their top wide receiver.
Jaylen Waddle aggravated a previous chest injury during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 30-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and his status for this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be determined by how he fares in practice this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported. Waddle is expected to be listed as questionable on the team’s injury report, per KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis, though there is hope he can play.
Waddle was injured on a reverse play late in the game, landing on his own fumble and staying down before walking to the sideline and eventually to the locker room. He did not return. He finished with four receptions for 48 yards on seven targets.
Head coach Sean Payton took responsibility afterward, apologizing for the play call that put his receiver in harm’s way. Waddle had already been managing the chest issue before the Arizona game, limited in two practices during the week before being a full participant on Friday.
The timing could hardly be worse for Denver. The Broncos (5-2) carry a three-game winning streak into a meeting with the Chiefs (5-1) that will shape the top of the AFC West, and Waddle was acquired to change games exactly like this one. Denver traded a first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in the deal that brought Waddle in this offseason.
His first season in Denver has not matched the price. Through seven games, Waddle has 26 receptions for 276 yards and one touchdown, and he has not topped 50 receiving yards in a game since his eight-catch, 138-yard performance against Jacksonville in Week 2.
If Waddle cannot go, Courtland Sutton becomes Bo Nix’s primary target on the outside, with Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims in line for larger roles. Denver’s practice reports on Wednesday and Thursday will offer the first real clues about which way this is trending.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent the last month winning games with an incomplete roster. The cavalry is finally in sight.
Wide receiver Roman Wilson and defensive tackle Derrick Harmon are nearing the end of their required four-game stays on injured reserve, and Pittsburgh’s upcoming bye week falls at the perfect time to welcome them back. The Steelers play once more in Week 8 before the bye gives their returning players an extra week to get ready.
Pittsburgh has weathered the absences well, beating the teams it was supposed to beat, including the New Orleans Saints 16-10 in the NFL’s first game in Paris. But the holes have been real. At receiver, the Steelers lost Michael Pittman Jr. to injured reserve in Week 5 after he aggravated a foot injury, and Wilson went down with a finger injury in the second half of that same week and landed on IR as well. Rookie Germie Bernard has been asked to carry a bigger role behind DK Metcalf ever since.
Not every return is on schedule. Reports indicate there is a chance Pittman misses the rest of the season, and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day’s return timeline remains unknown. But Wilson and Harmon would restore two rotation pieces at positions where Pittsburgh has been stretching its depth for a month.
Head coach Mike McCarthy likes where his roster stands as the reinforcements approach.
“We’ve got the right guys,” McCarthy said during his weekly press conference. “We’ve got a really great mix of veterans and young guys, and you’re just seeing it come together.”
The Steelers built their record without some of their best young players. If Wilson and Harmon come off the bye at full strength, the team that takes the field for the second half of the season will be deeper than the one that survived the first half.
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