Broncos injury report: Russell Wilson threw ‘really well,’ Caden Sterns out

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For Nathaniel Hackett, there is nothing to worry about with Russell Wilson in regards to Monday night.

The Broncos’ starting quarterback had a second consecutive full practice of work on Saturday and is good to go.

“He’s doing great. He threw the ball really well today,” Hackett said after practice. “I think that the good thing about Russ is that even when it feels good, he’s still going to keep working on his whole body.

“It’s everything. He knows that it’s hard to get through an entire season without nicks and bruises and different things happening, so, he’s a constant pro when it comes to keeping his body right.”

Still, he knows that in the wake of Wilson’s lat-muscle injury, the Broncos have to be careful and mindful.

“It’s a fine line. We want to be sure that we’re continually gaining and getting better every day. But you want to make sure that you’re taking care of him, his body, but you want to get them all into a rhythm.

“So, we try to do it as well as we can, from how many throws he takes and everything. But up to this week, he was pretty unlimited.”

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OFFICIALLY, Wilson was limited just one day this week: Thursday. But six Broncos were limited Saturday, and all are questionable:

• Edge rusher Jonathon Cooper (hamstring)
• RB Melvin Gordon (neck/ribs)
• CB Damarri Mathis (knee)
• G Dalton Risner (back tightness)
• TE Eric Saubert (thigh)
• RT Billy Turner (knee)

Risner returned to practice Saturday after missing the previous two days. The Broncos are optimistic about his chances of playing.

RG Quinn Meinerz is also listed as questionable, even though he had a full practice workload Saturday. Meinerz has not played since injuring his hamstring in Week 1.

“It shows that he’s such a fast athlete that that happened, But we’re going to see how he’s doing and make sure that we’re smart with him,” Hackett said. “He’s definitely better than he has been before this, so, we’re looking forward to getting him out there.”

Graham Glasgow started for Meinerz in the past five games.

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THE NEWS WAS NOT AS GOOD for safety Caden Sterns, whose hip issue of recent weeks recurred. The Broncos ruled out Sterns for Monday night.

“It’s something that’s kind of been ongoing and it flared up for him in his hip,” Hackett said. “So, we’re going to be smart with him.”

Thus, the expected return of Justin Simmons from a quad injury comes just in time. Simmons is eligible to return to the 53-player roster after practicing this week. Simmons suffered the injury during the Week 1 loss at Seattle, but played through it.

Sterns had been expected to return to his dime back position with Simmons back. P.J. Locke is expected to handle that responsibility as he returns after missing the loss to Indianapolis because of a concussion.

Denver also ruled out ILB Josey Jewell. He is “week-to-week” with a knee strain. He spent this week working on the north practice field used for injury rehabilitation.

Simmons, CB Michael Ojemudia and TE Greg Dulcich are all eligible to return from injured reserve. All practiced throughout the week. The Broncos might need Ojemudia as insurance in case Mathis’ knee issue limits him as they look to fill in for injured CB Ronald Darby.

Hackett said earlier this week that it would be “slow progress” for Dulcich. That is due to the nature of his hamstring injury and how long he sat out over the four months since he first suffered the hamstring injury in OTAs.

“He hasn’t had a lot of pads practice,” Hackett said, “but for what we had him out there doing, he looked really good.”

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AND THEN there is the case of Turner. He remains questionable after being limited all three days this week.

Denver faces a decision at the offensive-tackle spots in the wake of Garett Bolles’ season-ending fractured ankle. Calvin Anderson filled in for Bolles late last week. Cameron Fleming, the right tackle for all five games this season, has experience at right tackle earlier in his career.

“Cam’s done a really good job for us,” Hackett said. “Calvin did a good job. So, we’re lucky to have three [tackles].”

Turner was the projected right tackle before his knee issues delayed his entry into the lineup. The Broncos activated him for the first time all season against the Colts. However, he did not play and spent much of the game riding a stationary bicycle on the sideline.

“Everything’s been moving very positively for Billy,” Hackett said. “We want to do the right thing with him. That’s why we’re talking about what we’re going to do with those tackles. We want to be sure we’re getting Billy ready.”

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