If You’re a Broncos Offensive Lineman, Now’s The Time to Stop Playing Other Sports

Josh McDaniels already has enough to worry about coming into the 2010 season, having decided to trade his team’s most talented player, Brandon Marshall, for picks only to then draft divisive prospect Tim Tebow with the presumed goal of making him into the Broncos franchise quarterback within the next few years. On top of all that, he probably doesn’t need multiple offensive linemen to be felled while engaging in sports that aren’t football.↵↵Last month, the standout young left tackle Ryan Clady suffered a partially torn patellar tendon during a game of basketball. The injury will likely sideline him through at least the preseason. And if matters with their linemen couldn’t get more grim, Matt McChesney too has now been hit with a serious ankle injury, one that could spell the end of his career. McChesney had been playing golf recently when, stepping out of a golf cart, he had his ankle rolled by another cart. The same ankle which had to be surgically repaired after last season.↵

↵↵McChesney’s injury doesn’t exacerbate the tackle situation any worse than it had been following Clady’s freak accident, since even if McChesney was going to bounce back from his previous injury, it would have been as a reserve center or guard. Nevertheless, it’s another drain on depth for the Broncos, whose first-team offensive line, at the start of OTAs today, will feature two rookie starters along with a second-year player who was inactive for all but three games in 2009.↵

↵↵Barring a speedy recovery by Clady, or a few unexpected gems emerging from the various rookies currently starting on the line, it sounds like it’s going to be a tough slog for Denver whether it’s Orton or Tebow under center. Or, given the amount of punishment they could receive, even Brady Quinn could make another appearance at QB.↵

↵