The Broncos will likely be without multiple key players this weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers, but overall the injury news on Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss, and Pat Bryant continues to trend in the right direction.
When asked Wednesday if he thought an injured reserve stint for either Surtain or Bryant looked likely, Denver head coach Sean Payton said, “I don’t think so.” He followed that up by saying that if he did think so, he would not say it publicly in the middle of the week. The Broncos typically place players on injured reserve on Saturday after the practice week concludes.
Payton’s full thought on the matter: “That’s jumping way ahead. I don’t think so. And if they were, I wouldn’t say so. But I don’t think so.”
The sense from sources early this week has been that Surtain is more likely to avoid injured reserve than Bryant, but that there was some hope neither would end up getting that designation. If Payton’s right, that will be a boon for Denver. If Bryant ends up on IR, it would, in all likelihood, not happen until Saturday.
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Surtain was in a similar situation last year when he partially tore his pectoral muscle, though Denver had the benefit of a looming bye week then. The Broncos, though, were willing to keep Surtain on the active roster in hopes he would miss three games and return on the fourth, essentially getting him back one game earlier than if they'd placed him on IR. That's how it ended up working out and it looked like a savvy move given Surtain's status as one of the game's best players and the central force on Vance Joseph's defense.
Surtain, Bryant and Moss -- who is not considered an injured reserve candidate as he deals with a rib injury -- were not on the field for the Broncos' Wednesday practice.
The Broncos' next four opponents are at the Chargers this weekend, home for Thursday Night Football against Seattle, at Arizona on Oct. 25 and then home against Kansas City on Nov. 1.
If Surtain and/or Bryant aren't put on injured reserve Saturday, that means the hope for Denver is that they return at some point in that run. Of course, it's easy to look at that list and see the allure of Surtain, in particular, being on the field when the Broncos try to split the season series against the currently 4-0 Chiefs at Empower Field to open November.
Elsewhere on the injury front, OLB Dondrea Tillman (hamstring) returned to practice in a limited fashion after missing Sunday's game against San Francisco.
TE Adam Trautman (shoulder) was a limited participant and RB Tyler Badie (foot) was a full participant. Veteran DT Zach Allen got a partial rest day, just like he did last Wednesday.
NFLPA, NFL working toward clarity on player celebrations
The NFL and players union released a joint statement Wednesday addressing a recent spike in fines for player celebrations.
A pair of Broncos players could ultimately have their fines rescinded after policy clarifications.
Quinn Meinerz and Jaylen Waddle were fined nearly $15,000 each for pantomiming rolling dice after Waddle caught a 2-point conversion against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. They are among 20 players fined for celebrations league-wide over Weeks 2-3, all of whom have appealed their fines, according to NFLPA executive director JC Tretter.
Over Weeks 2 and 3, there were 20 fines for celebrations - an unusual spike. All 20 fines were appealed and are now before the neutral appeal officers, with some already being overturned.
We raised this issue and pushed for greater clarity around what will and won’t result in… https://t.co/pFEMgF7Yw8
— JC Tretter (@JCTretter) October 7, 2026
The clarification from the league and union says that players will no longer be fined for depicting drinking beverages and that banned celebrations include gestures that depict violence, smoking or drug use or that are sexual in nature. It also says that "When conduct falls into a gray area, the league will contact the player and provide direction before imposing discipline."
That suggests that if Meinerz and Waddle had done the dice celebration after this memo, they would have, at worst, received a phone call from the league before being fined.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, sources said Meinerz and Waddle were still awaiting word on their appeals.
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