Broncos injury report: Cushenberry joins list of wounded O-linemen
Nov 1, 2022, 11:57 AM
The Broncos changed their recent losing ways in London, but they couldn’t change their run of health woes on the offensive line.
Center Lloyd Cushenberry became the latest to succumb. He suffered a groin injury in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville. Tuesday, Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett confirmed that Cushenberry will miss “a couple of weeks.”
Graham Glasgow, who started four games earlier this season at right guard in place of Quinn Meinerz, filled in for Cushenberry in London and is expected to start in his place at Tennessee on Nov. 13.
Cushenberry is the sixth Broncos offensive lineman to miss time this season due to injury.
The first to miss time was swing lineman Tom Compton. He is still on the physically-unable-to-perform list, but is in a ramp-up window to return after practicing last week in London. Also shelved at the start was right tackle Billy Turner. The Broncos deactivated him for the first five weeks of the season due to a knee injury. He played in Week 6 at Los Angeles and made his first start of the season against the Jets six days later.
Next to succumb was Meinerz, who strained his right hamstring in Week 1. He missed four games. Garett Bolles fractured his ankle late in the Week 5 loss to Indianapolis. That injury ended his season.
Finally, Cam Fleming — who filled in for both Turner and Bolles — injured his quadriceps muscle Nov. 23 against the Jets. He did not travel to London.
That is a combined 21 man-games already missed along the offensive line through 8 games. With Cushenberry not playing in Tennessee and Bolles out for the year, that number will be no lower than 31 by the end of the season.
Cushenberry’s injury also that the Broncos will have their fourth different starting O-line combination in as many games when they play the Titans. It will also be their fifth different starting quintet of the season.
Denver used the same starting five from Weeks 2-5: Bolles, Risner, Cushenberry, Glasgow and Fleming. Every other week has seen something different.
And now for at least one more game, that trend will continue.
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