Tyler

Badie

Active for the first time since his scary Week 4 back injury, Badie was a distant third option behind Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin. The former Mizzou product flashed a little juice early in the season, but he’s one month shy of his 26th birthday with 16 career regular season touches. With the Broncos casting about for something, anything in their ineffective backfield this season, Badie is unlikely to get a better chance in 2025. He can be left on Dynasty league waiver wires.

Badie has not played since Week 4 when he suffered a severe back injury against the Jets, but the third-year back was on the verge of looking like Denver’s RB1 before his injury. Now healthy and ready to go, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Badie saw a significant role in his return to action given the Broncos’ backfield struggles this season. Rookie running back Audric Estime, along with Zach Wilson, running back Blake Watson, linebacker Levelle Bailey, guard Nick Gargiulo, and defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike were all declared inactive for Sunday’s game.

Oh, good, another running back to enter the Denver backfield rotation. Jaleel McLaughlin has taken over as the primary rusher for the Broncos, with Javonte Williams in on clear passing situations and Audric Estime serving as the primary change of pace option. Badie could potentially make his presence felt on special teams should he be active for the Wildcard Round against the Bills.

Badie suffered a scary back injury in Week 4 and collapsed on the sideline. He was placed on injured reserve and thankfully returned to practice a few weeks ago. He practiced in full this week, though the Broncos could continue to ease him into the lineup with another week off. They will need to make their decision wether to activate him or not on Saturday.

Badie has not played since October after suffering a back injury that caused him to collapse in October. It’s possible he’ll be active for the Wild Card game against the BIlls, but it’s unlikely he would receive many touches for that contest in Buffalo.

Badie was designed to return from injured reserve last week. He practiced in full three times this week before being questionable, giving him a shot at being activated over the weekend. His return would make an already-messy backfield a true nightmare for fantasy purposes.

Badie memorably collapsed on the sideline after suffering a back injury in Week 4 and has missed the last three months. He could come back and add more confusion to the Broncos running back room for the remainder of the season, but the Broncos haven’t put out anything conclusive to that effect and we’ll likely need to see practice reports to see how close he is to returning.

Badie went down with the back injury after taking a hard hit in the first quarter of Denver’s Week 4 win over the Jets. He made it to the sidelines under his own power but was eventually taken to the locker room on a stretcher. Despite the frightening optics of the situation, the fact Badie wasn’t immediately placed on injured reserve this week suggests a best-case outcome for the young back. Until he returns, Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin will split the Denver backfield.

Badie rushed for a career-high 70 yards just two weeks ago but suffered the frightening back injury in Week 4. The fact that the Broncos have not placed Badie on injured reserve appears to be a positive sign for his overall health, football aside. Fantasy managers should expect Badie to remain sidelined until the team announces otherwise.

Rapoport also adds that Badie, who flew home after being discharged from the hospital, did suffer a back injury that may land him on injured reserve, but this is by all accounts good news for the third-year back out of Missouri. It was a scary scene in the Meadowlands after Badie was carted from the field and then carried into the Broncos’ locker room after the play. We’ll know more about how much time he’s expected to miss later in the week, but it’s fair to assume Badie won’t be active for Week 5 against the Raiders.