Denver Broncos take another hit with Menelik Watson on injured reserve

The Denver Broncos continue to face a downward spiral with their latest injury, a season-ending one to Menelik Watson, and fading postseason hopes.

It wasn’t that long ago that we had to reference the Denver Broncos as the defending Super Bowl champions. Many players from that very roster remain impact players for John Elway’s team, including Von Miller, Chris Harris, Aqib Talib, Demaryius Thomas and many more, yet for several reasons, the Broncos have not only failed to live up to the high standards set up for them before the 2017 season but they’ve laid flat at the bottom of the AFC West.

The Broncos are currently 3-5 and sit in the division’s basement tied with the Los Angeles Chargers, but it’s likely that Philip Rivers and company end up with more second half momentum than Denver given their recent records. In addition, Denver’s offense, which is already potentially the league’s worst, will now face a steeper climb toward respectability with the loss of offensive tackle Menelik Watson for the season.

The Broncos offensive line has been an issue the last few years and they’ve started to rebuild it in a meaningful way with the offseason additions of guard Ronald Leary and left tackle Garrett Bolles. Watson hasn’t been a great performer this season by any means, but the Broncos selection at the position includes other struggling pros like Donald Stephenson. In other words, the cupboards were already bare enough before even losing Watson, who to his credit has been trying to push through injuries to play on the field.