Shane Ray could sit rest of season for Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos might lose one of their best pass rushers for the final two games of the season if Shane Ray is unable to complete the season.

This has largely been a season to forget for Shane Ray and the Denver Broncos. The team itself has labored to win even five games this year with miserable production at quarterback ruining a good to great defense loaded with Von Miller and the league’s best cornerback duo. For Shane Ray, it’s also been a poor year personally as the talented young pass rusher has dealt with serious injury issues.

Unfortunately for both, Ray might be forced to miss the Broncos final two regular season games. On Sunday, they face the Washington Redskins, and the following week they face the Kansas City Chiefs. Without Ray, both teams will be able to concentrate their efforts on double teaming Miller.

The latest on Ray is that his cast will keep him from playing effectively, and the Broncos still aren’t sure what will happen.

So far this year, Ray missed the first seven games of the season due to a torn ligament in his wrist. Apparently that same injury could bookend his season and keep him from finishing. In between, Ray has not been abel to build up on the strength of his first full year as a starter for the Broncos in 2016, when he had 8 sacks in 8 starts and 2 fumble recoveries, including 1 for a touchdown.

This year, Ray has a single sack and 16 total tackles in 7 starts. For now, the Broncos would do well to simply make sure that Ray, along with everyone else, is healthy and focused on the blank slate that 2018 brings.

As for Ray’s injury and what it means for the Chiefs, it means K.C. will now be able to focus more on protecting Alex Smith from Von Miller. In 13 total games against the Chiefs in his career, Miller has 11.5 sacks. Forcing the Broncos to be more one-dimensional in their pass rush could make it that much easier for the Chiefs to gain a victory in the final game of the regular season.