Champ Bailey injury: Broncos corner on crutches

It’s not clear exactly what Champ Bailey’s injury is, but we do know that the star cornerback was on crutches after Saturday night’s Broncos preseason game, which can’t be good news for Denver.

Bailey was seen leaving Seattle’s CenturyLink Field on crutches with his left foot in a boot. Although his X-Rays came up negative, he’s scheduled to have an MRI which will reveal how bad his injury is. The fact that he wouldn’t put weight on the leg might just have been a precautionary measure, but generally isn’t a good sign.

Any missed playing time for Bailey is a bad scenario for Denver. He’s been to the Pro Bowl in 12 of his 14 NFL seasons, more than any other cornerback in the history of the game, and although he’s now 35, he hasn’t shown signs of slowing. The team’s franchise leader in interceptions had a pair of picks last year and has been voted to appear in Hawaii four straight years. Denver’s pass defense allowed 199.6 yards per game last year, the third-best in the league, and Bailey is obviously a huge part of that.

The good news is that Denver has a decent amount of depth. It made a splash by signing Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the offseason, and he has the potential to be one of the better corners in the league, and backup Tony Carter could probably start for most teams in the league.

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