Denver Broncos Derek Wolfe in hospital
Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe (95) after recovering a fumble during the game against the Washington Redskins at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe did not make the trip to Kansas City with the rest of the team, but he wasn’t immediately ruled out for tomorrow’s big game against the Chiefs. Now, however, Wolfe has been ruled out, and the illness he sustained on Friday seems to be significantly worse than what we expected.
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Wolfe is currently in a local hospital and is being tested for an illness, but the nature of the illness still hasn’t been revealed. We can only hope that it isn’t anything overly serious and that Wolfe will get well soon and be good to go in Week 14. Per Rapoport, doctors are still “determining the cause” of Wolfe’s illness, so that’s likely one reason why we don’t know exactly what is ailing Wolfe.
Losing him for tomorrow’s game against the Chiefs hurts, because the Broncos already had to place defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson on the injured reserve after he suffered an injury in last week’s game against the New England Patriots. The Broncos depth on the defensive line is now being put to the test, and it will be interesting to see how UNC rookie Sylvester Williams fares out with the spotlight on him. Williams was praised heavily for his ability to rush the passer as a 4-3 DT coming out of college, and some even compared him to Cincinnati Bengals superstar DT Geno Atkins.
Wolfe isn’t exactly a great player, but his loss will hurt, especially if nobody else can step up. While Wolfe isn’t a consistent pass rusher and is better as a 3-4 DE, he can dominate at times and has enough talent to get after the quarterback. He isn’t bad in the running game either and posted six sacks last season (four so far this year), so he does produce. It’s a tough loss for the Broncos and one the Chiefs will look to take advantage of on Sunday.