Denver Broncos star left tackle Ryan Clady sprained his Lisfranc, and the initial expectation was for Clady to be placed on the injured reserve with a designation to return. However, there were some fears that Clady would end up being placed on the injured reserve and being out for the season, and those worst fears have come to fruition. According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, the Denver Broncos have placed Ryan Clady on the injured reserve, thus ending his season.
Denver Broncos offensive tackle Ryan Clady (78) during training camp at the Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
This means that Clady’s Lisfranc sprain is more serious than once thought, because most of us expected Clady to be placed on the short-term I.R. in the event of a Lisfranc sprain, which was always the most likely scenario. The Broncos will be starting Chris Clark for Ryan Clady at left tackle, and the Broncos also signed veteran swing tackle Winston Justice earlier today in order to get depth at tackle. Justice’s signing pointed to Clady hitting the short-term I.R. and missing a significant chunk of the season, but now Clady is out for the year and Clark and Justice will be trusted to help keep Peyton Manning upright.
Losing a left tackle as talented as Ryan Clady is awfully tough to recover from, and the Broncos have had awful luck with offensive line injuries ever since the offseason. At least the Broncos still have some high performers on the line like right tackle Orlando Franklin, and the offense will still be amazing despite there likely being a significant increase in pressure on Manning from the left side of the line as a result of Clady’s season-ending injury. The worst part of a season-ending injury to an elite player on an elite team is the fact that the Broncos won’t have Clady at any point, even during the postseason.
Lisfrancis injuries are tricky and serious business, and Clady’s injury is further evidence of that.
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