Pat Bryant injury: Denver Broncos lose a key offensive weapon after scary play against San Francisco 49ers
The Denver Broncos had already lost cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss against the 49ers, and the injury bug has now found the offense too.
The Denver Broncos can’t catch a break. Wide receiver Pat Bryant was carted off the field in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers with what appeared to be a right ankle injury. It is the latest blow on a day when Denver had already lost two of its most important defenders.
Bryant had just hauled in his third pass of the day over the middle and was fighting upfield for extra yards. Multiple 49ers defenders brought him down, and it looked like bodies landed on his right ankle. Bryant went down in immediate pain, clutching that right leg. Then came the cart which pretty much meant the end of his day.
A brutal day for the Broncos
Look, if this were the only injury Denver suffered against San Francisco, it would be frustrating enough. It isn’t even close to the only one.
The Broncos’ starting cornerback duo of Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss was ruled out of the game earlier with injuries. Surtain suffered a non-contact leg injury, and Moss suffered an rib injury. Losing both of your top corners in the same game against an offense like the 49ers’ is about as bad as it gets for a defense.
Now the offense takes a hit too. Obviously, the full picture won’t be clear until the team provides updates. But this has been one of those days where everything that can go wrong seems to go wrong.
Why Pat Bryant matters more than his depth chart spot
Some folks will look at this and shrug because Bryant is the Broncos’ No. 3 wide receiver. I think that undersells what he means to this team.
Bryant had an amazing training camp. He was the talk of the town in Denver, and that kind of buzz doesn’t come out of nowhere. He earned his spot by showing up day after day, and he was carving out a real role in this offense. Three catches before the injury tells you he was involved again in this one. He was getting a rhythm going.
A third receiver who can win over the middle and pick up yards after the catch is a valuable piece. That’s especially true for a team trying to keep defenses honest. When you lose that guy, the targets have to go somewhere, and the offense loses a reliable option it had grown to trust. And that’s a big deal.
What comes next for Bryant and Denver
We will have to wait for further information to come out on the severity of Pat Bryant’s injury. I don’t want to get ahead of the medical staff here, because ankle injuries can range from a few days to a few months.
With that being said, the eye test wasn’t encouraging. It looked to be pretty serious judging by the pain on Bryant’s face as well as him getting carted off. Players don’t usually leave on a cart for something minor.
My expectation is that Pat Bryant could miss a good amount of time and end up on injured reserve. I hope I’m wrong about that, because he was trending toward a breakout role. But Denver should plan for life without him for a stretch.
The Broncos will need someone else in that receiver room to step up, and they will need the secondary to hold together if Surtain and Moss miss time as well. How this team responds to a day this brutal will say a lot about where it goes from here.
