The Denver Broncos will have to change things up in front of rookie first-round pick Bo Nix, who has already struggled with sacks in his first two regular season games.
Nix will be missing one of his bookend tackles for the next month.
“#Broncos OT Mike McGlinchey suffered a serious MCL sprain and is expected to miss roughly a month, according to sources.” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on X on September 16. “Because evaluations are ongoing, the timeline is subject to change. But he’ll be sidelined for a while.
Mike Klis of 9News corroborated the report. McGlinchey sustained the injury in the final minutes of the Broncos’ 13-6 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“With 2:01 left in the game, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw from the Steelers’ 11-yard line high incomplete to the end zone,” Klis wrote on Thursday, September 16. “McGlinchey was blocking edge rusher T.J. Watt, while left tackle Garett Bolles was tackling the other edge rusher, Alex Highsmith, from the opposite side. McGlinchey was accidentally rolled up from behind by Bolles and his defender and went down.”
McGlinchey was a great fan of Nix and the development the youngster had made since his arrival, which added to the gravity of his passing.
McGlinchey missed one game in 2023, his rookie season with the Broncos.
He appeared in all 17 regular-season games and three postseason games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. He is in the second year of a five-year, $87.5 million contract that the Broncos restructured in March to free up cap space, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Broncos could turn to undrafted rookie to replace injured veteran Mike McGlinchey.
Following the injury of seven-year veteran McGlinchey, second-year tackle Alex Palczewski took his position.
Palczewski, an undrafted free agent out of Illinois in 2023, did not play in any games as a rookie.
According to Pro Football Reference, he has only two offensive snaps, both of which occurred in a loss to the Steelers. Palczewski has six special teams snaps in the first two games of 2024.
The door may be open for outstanding 2024 UDFA Frank Crum, who has been a healthy scratch for the first two weeks of the season.
Sean Payton, the Broncos head coach, spoke highly of the former Wyoming Cowboy.
“His tape has been really good,” Payton said to reporters on August 30 when asked why Crum made the 53-man roster. “We had to fight hard in free agency to get him. But, man, his stature and potential. He was not one of the people we considered cutting. We believed he belonged on this team.
“I tutored his position coach, whom we selected in the seventh round [in 2006]. Now, [Broncos offensive line coach Zach] Strief was at tackle four to five years ago. There was a season or two when he was the big tight end, and everyone in the stadium grew tired of hearing, ’74 reporting.’ But, and I’m not making a comparison, he’s a lot further ahead athletically than Zach. And so we’re quite encouraged by him.”
Former Giants OL emerges as a dark horse backup candidate.
Payton frequently defers to veterans. Nix was listed third behind Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson QB3 on the Broncos’ initial unofficial depth chart.
Crum may not receive major consideration until Palczewski performs poorly.
Matt Peart may also be involved. Peart spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants. He joined with the Broncos in free agency, and he might be a dark horse possibility to replace Palczewski if he stumbles and the Broncos bench Crum again.
The Broncos will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3. Tampa likes to blitz, which should serve as an early test for McGlinchey’s replacement, whoever that may be.
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