The Broncos may be running out of patience with Drew Sanders.
The 2023 third-round pick was on the field for the first two days of Denver’s acclimation period at training camp, then disappeared for two straight days without explanation. He was not seen at practices over the weekend, and because Sean Payton does not give daily injury updates during camp, the Broncos have not offered much clarity on what’s keeping him out.
Even so, the usual signs point to more than a minor detour. Injured players generally show up on the side field while they work back into action, but Sanders has not even been spotted there. He is one of a couple of players in that category, and that only adds to the uncertainty around his status.
At this point, Denver is staring at the same uncomfortable reality it has faced before with Sanders: the talent is real, but the availability keeps getting in the way.
The Broncos drafted Sanders in the high third round in 2023 because they believed he could become a pressure player from off-ball linebacker, the role he played so effectively at Arkansas in 2022. That plan never really took hold. Instead, Sanders has bounced around as something of a positionless piece in Vance Joseph’s defense, with no clear home and a frustrating run of injuries piled on top.
That kind of stop-start development is hard enough for any young player. It becomes even tougher when the player is missing major chunks of time across his first three NFL seasons.
Denver has tried Sanders at inside linebacker, then at edge rusher, then back inside, then back to the edge again. When he has been healthy enough to play, he has been effective in limited snaps. But if this latest absence is tied to another significant injury, the Broncos may finally have to face the possibility that the best move is to move on and let him get a fresh start elsewhere.
For now, keeping him on the roster is not exactly a must. He can still compete for a spot on the 90-man roster, but the pressure is obvious. The Broncos already have one of the best edge-rushing groups in the league, and Sanders is beginning camp on the outside of the 53-man roster looking in.
A strong camp and a good preseason could still change that picture. But he has to be on the field to make that case, and that is the problem. Denver wants bodies in camp who are actually competing, not just occupying space.
Sanders could always reappear at the next practice and make this a non-story. But if he cannot get back soon, the Broncos may have to keep moving without him.
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Head coach Sean Payton said Wattenberg will be evaluated and is expected to be fine, which offers some immediate relief. Still, the timing matters for a group trying to build cohesion in camp, especially when the center is the player tying the line together. Denver does not need an early scare at a position that matters so much to the offense, and it will be watching closely to see how Wattenberg responds once the team gets back on the field. [Read more 🡒]