The Denver Broncos ruled out starting slot wide receiver Devaughn Vele (ribs) for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s the lone Bronco that will be out, beside rookie running back Audric Estimé (ankle), who was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 11.
The fifth-round draft pick out of Notre Dame fumbled on his first carry after leaping over a defender in Sunday’s 26-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Overall, he rushed for 14 yards on two carries against Seattle. He’s eligible to return to the active roster for the Broncos’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6.
Left tackle Garett Bolles (calf), wide receiver Josh Reynolds (Achilles) and center Luke Wattenberg (ankle) improved to full participants in Friday’s practice and don’t have injury designations. All three are expected to be good to go on Sunday.
Denver allowed the most pressures in the entire NFL last week (44.9%), so having Bolles and Wattenberg active is crucial. Bolles, who was named second-team All-Pro in 2020, will be matched up against Alex Highsmith. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey will get the daunting task of having to block T.J. Watt.
Vele (ribs) did not participate in any of the Broncos’ three practices ahead of Sunday’s game. He had eight receptions on eight targets for 39 yards against Seattle.
Broncos rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin said he will be active against the Steelers after being inactive in Week 1. Second-year wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. and Franklin are expected to replace Vele in the slot. Courtland Sutton and Reynolds will be the outside receivers.
“I feel good pretty good to make my debut out there. I get to go out there and showcase my talent and help my team out. So it’s going to be a dream come true,” Franklin said, via Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette.
Mims was named second-team All-Pro as a return specialist last year. As a receiver, he finished with 22 receptions for 377 receiving yards and one touchdown last season. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
Despite the impressive rookie campaign, Mims played only 12 snaps and received one target in the season opener.
“It’s part of the challenges when we have multiple receiver groups. Obviously, we anticipated him getting more than just 12 snaps,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “A lot of it depends on how much of the game we’re playing in nickel on offense, three-receiver sets or base sets.”
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