The Denver Broncos have several bumps and bruises at inside linebacker, but it hasn’t reached crisis level.
Alex Singleton (thumb) isn’t practicing this week, Dre Greenlaw (tightness) left practice Thursday and Drew Sanders (foot) is expected to be sidelined into the start of the regular season. Despite those ailments, coach Sean Payton downplayed the alarm the balls ringing in Broncos Country.
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“I don’t think, well, and I say this respectfully — I read somewhere where it was like injury plague — Alex is back here in six days,” Payton said Thursday. “So I think, obviously, other guys step up and get those reps, but knock on wood, fortunately, we’ve been good here during this camp, but it gives us a chance to evaluate other players.
“And so you’re seeing [Levelle] Bailey, you’re seeing the reps. [Justin] Strnad, obviously, had a ton of work, but you do get a chance. And throughout these drills, we’re trying to rotate it enough so that we are getting the proper evaluation on these younger players, which is important. Our biggest fear would be that someone leaves here and ends up excelling somewhere else. And so we want to make sure we don’t let that happen.”
Bailey might end up being the big winner as he has stepped up with Singleton sidelined. And while Payton does not seem alarmed about the state of the LB room, the team did sign veteran Garret Wallow to shore up their depth.
If all goes well — knock on wood, as Payton said — Greenlaw and Singleton will be ready for Week 1.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Sean Payton downplays injuries at linebacker