Broncos place guard Leary on injured reserve, sign tight end
Dec 11, 2017, 4:31 PM | Updated: Dec 12, 2017, 10:51 am
Ron Leary’s first season with the Denver Broncos has officially come to an abbreviated end, as the team announced Tuesday morning they had placed the guard on injured reserve with a back injury.
KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis first reported the move, which should give first-year pro Connor McGovern a shot with the first-team offense.
Broncos are expected to place RG Ron Leary on season-ending IR, per locker room source. Back injury. Connor McGovern gets long look. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) December 11, 2017
Leary, who started each of the 11 games he played this season, missed consecutive weeks with the injury and likely would have missed Thursday night’s matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.
Perhaps the Broncos biggest offseason splash, Leary signed a four-year contract with Denver as an unrestricted free agent, earning $36 million in the deal, according to Spotrac.com. Previously, he had spent his first five NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
Because Leary figures to be a piece of the Broncos core moving forward, Denver 7 Broncos Insider Troy Renck said the offensive lineman told him the move to sit him down is out of an abundance of caution.
#Broncos‘ Thursday night turnaround already meant Ron Leary out.. Now good chance goes on IR with back issue. Leary told me that they need to be cautious. He is a core piece moving forward. #Denver7
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) December 11, 2017
Through three-quarters of the 2017 season, Leary ranked not only as the Broncos top offensive lineman but 11th in the NFL at the guard position, according to Pro Football Focus.
In a corresponding move, Denver signed tight end Matt LaCosse off the New York Giants practice squad.
A third-year pro, LaCosse played two games for the Giants in 2015 before landing on injured reserve for the entirety of the 2016 season.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
