Broncos Get Good News on TE Evan Engram's Calf Injury
In Evan Engram's debut with the Denver Broncos, he only caught three passes for 21 yards before exiting with a second-half calf injury. Oddly, Lucas Krull, not Engram, started the game at tight end.
It would have made sense schematically if, say, Adam Trautman had started the season-opener, as he has solid blocking ability, but Krull has none. Curious though Krull's start may be, the eyes of Broncos Country have been on the practice report this week to see what's going on with Engram's calf.
On Wednesday, Engram was limited in practice. However, he was upgraded to a full participant in Thursday's practice session, as was defensive end John Franklin-Myers, who was a DNP on Wednesday.
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Dec 15, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) celebrates the touchdown of tight end Nate Adkins (45) in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Fellow tight end Nate Adkins finally participating, even on a limited basis, is a great development, too. Adkins suffered an ankle injury in training camp that kept him out of the remainder of the summer, but the Broncos opted not to place him on injured reserve.
As the Broncos' best blocking tight end, Adkins can also fill the fullback role, which has been held down by Adam Prentice since Michael Burton was placed on season-ending IR. Adkins has experience in Sean Payton's scheme and some established chemistry with quarterback Bo Nix, catching 14 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Meanwhile, linebacker Dre Greenlaw is still a non-participant in practice. Payton continues to hint that Greenlaw is moving in the right direction and will make his Broncos debut "sooner than later," but fans are justifiably anxious about this situation.
Fellow linebacker Alex Singleton remains on the injury report with a thumb. Per The Denver Post's Parker Gabriel, Singleton suffered another fracture in the same thumb he injured early in training camp vs. the Tennessee Titans last Sunday. He's remained a full participant in practice, but he'll be wearing a cast for a bit.
As for Engram, it'll be interesting to see how involved he is in the Broncos' Week 2 road tilt vs. the Indianapolis Colts. He garnered 26 of the Broncos' 77 total offensive snaps (34%) before he injured his calf last week.
Like Greenlaw, that was the only concern with the Broncos signing Engram to the two-year, $23 million contract this past spring: health and availability. He missed eight games due to injury with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024, which came hot on the heels of his impressive Pro Bowl campaign the year prior, when he caught 114 passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns.
The Broncos' offense is striving to be more run-centric, and based on what we saw from Engram in Week 1, it's hard to predict exactly what his role will be moving forward. But it's a good sign that he's fully practicing again, and that Adkins is back on the field in some capacity.
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Meanwhile, the Colts' first-team pass rusher Laiatu Latu was limited in Wednesday's practice and downgraded on Thursday with a hamstring. Cornerbacks Jaylon Jones (hamstring) and Charvarius Ward (concussion) were alDNPs on Thursday.
Vikings Considering Shutting Down Starter After Injury Update
Minnesota Vikings head coach, Kevin O'Connell, watching during warmups before the regular season finale against the Detroit Lions. January 5, 2025.
After suffering a non-contact hamstring injury in the season opener, Minnesota Vikings starting linebacker Blake Cashman‘s season could take a serious turn for the worse.
After head coach Kevin O’Connell said that they are weighing roster decisions that could come with their latest injury report, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero revealed that Cashman’s landing on the injured reserve (IR) list is under consideration.
“First of all, Blake Cashman might end up on injured reserve, which would knock him out for four games. It sounds like that’s a real consideration,” Pelissero said Thursday, September 11 on KFAN’s “Power Trip Morning Show.”
A placement on the IR list would require Cashman to miss four games before he can be activated to the 53-man roster. It would be ideal for the Vikings to make the move this week with just four games to go until their Week 6 bye.
Pelissero said the decision will likely come Saturday before a Week 2 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ll probably get an answer on that around Saturday, which is when teams typically make IR moves,” Pelissero added. “But regardless, he’s going to miss some time here.”
Update (2:09 p.m. ET): The Vikings placed Cashman on the injured reserve list, making his earliest availability to return Week 7 vs. the Eagles.
Blake Cashman’s Concerning Injury History Doesn’t Evade Vikings
A native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Cashman signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with the Vikings in March 2024 — a welcome homecoming for the University of Minnesota alumnus.
It was a modest bet on Cashman, who had injury struggles throughout his rookie contract but pieced together two healthy seasons with the Houston Texans.
A fifth-round pick by the New York Jets in 2019, Cashman played in just 14 games in his first three seasons, landing on the injured reserve list four times in that span. He missed just three games in his two seasons in Houston before arriving in Minnesota.
Last season, Cashman missed three games with a turf toe injury, which proved devastating for the Viking defense, which allowed nearly 400 yards in their first two losses to the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.
Vikings Reunion With Eric Wilson Already Seeing Dividends
Cashman leaving the Bears game for the final quarter could have spelled ruin for the Vikings, which were down by 11 points following a pix-six from J.J. McCarthy.
Instead, the defense remained stout, with veteran linebacker Eric Wilson reemerging for the team.
Undrafted in 2017, Wilson was the understudy to Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks before making stops with the Philadelphia Eagles, Texans and Green Bay Packers following his rookie deal.
Wilson’s return couldn’t have come at a better time.
He stepped into Cashman’s green-dot role of relaying the defensive play calls to the rest of the defense seamlessly. Wilson tallied five combined tackles, a tackle for loss and deflected a punt that was necessary to the comeback win.
“You’re always looking for that veteran presence, and he’s a player that — I don’t know if we win the football game unless you have Eric Wilson to not only, I mean, he had the [partially] blocked punt, but just the way he goes in and he’s green-dottin’ and calling it,” O’Connell said after the game. “You want to see a prototype of a veteran guy that helps your football team win by any means necessary? It’s Eric Wilson.”
