Garett

Bolles

Bolles was seen limping off the field after his leg got trapped under a defender. The injury did not appear serious, given Bolles’ ability to walk off alone. We will update his status as soon as possible.

Both Bolles and C Luke Wattenberg (ankle) practiced in full on Friday. It’s great news for a Broncos offense that faces the Steelers’ top-notch defensive front in Week 2.

Vele missed his second consecutive practice while dealing with his rib injury, and seems to be on the wrong side of being able to play Sunday against the Steelers. Josh Reynolds was also limited with an Achilles injury, so arguably the league’s worst receiving unit could be in a lot of trouble for a game against a tough Pittsburgh defense. On the bright side, Garret Bolles (ankle) was able to get in a limited practice Thursday, and he’s expected to be able to play in Week 2.

C Luke Wattenberg (ankle) was also sidelined. The Broncos host the Steelers’ vaunted front seven on Sunday and will badly need their offensive line intact. This is a situation worth monitoring.

Bolles left in the early portion of the fourth quarter with the ankle injury. The 32-year-old will likely miss the rest of Sunday’s contest against Seattle, and Matt Peart will handle protecting Bo Nix’s blindside while he’s out.

Bolles suffered a broken leg in Week 5 against the Chiefs. Nothing about his rehab has suggested that he’s fallen behind so far. Denver’s starting left tackle will turn 31 in May and the Broncos should probably be searching for a long-term replacement, but the Broncos are inundated with so many other problems on the offensive line that it’ll be hard for them to address a position where they’re expected to return a good player.

Bolles has rebounded from a tough start to his career and earned a major extension last offseason. He’ll likely be placed on injured reserve in the coming days with a broken leg suffered after an opposing player rolled up on him in the fourth quarter. Bolles will have an $18 million cap hit for 2023 and is not a lock to be retained off that, but he’s probably shown well enough to remain part of the team’s core.

Bolles appeared to have his leg rolled up on by an opposing player late in the fourth quarter and immediately went down. Shortly after going down, Bolles was carted off the field and replaced by left tackle Calvin Anderson. Left tackle Calvin Anderson came in to replace Bolles. Anderson has five career starts to his name in 32 games.

Rapsheet added that right tackle Bobby Massie, who is dealing with an ankle issue as well, is expected to play. That gives Denver upgrades on both sides of the line after playing multiple weeks with second and third-stringers at tackle. With Melvin Gordon sidelined, Javonte Williams is getting his first start behind an offensive line trending in the right direction. It’s tempting to rank Williams as an RB1 although his lackluster offense could limit him to RB2 numbers.

Bolles was out last week while on the COVID list but he told Fangio he has “been working out like crazy.” With any conditioning concerns relieved, Bolles will be activated off the list upon returning to the team on Thursday. He is fully expected to start in Week 13 against the Chiefs.