Broncos Place Potential Starter on Injured Reserve

Denver Broncos cornerback Damarri Mathis, who suffered an ankle injury in last week’s preseason finale, was placed on short-term injured reserve Tuesday, the team announced.

Mathis will first be eligible to return for Denver’s Oct. 6 home contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. He won’t count against the 53-man roster limit while on IR.

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A 2022 fourth-round pick, Mathis has appeared in 33 career games for the Broncos. The Pitt product lost his starting job to Fabian Moreau last season and entered this year competing with Levi Wallace, Riley Moss, and Kris Abrams-Draine for the coveted CB2 role opposite Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain II.

“Most of the battles that we have, it’s battles where you need both guys to play well for you. It’s battles where you need both guys to play in a package, like corner,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said on Aug. 22. “We need multiple corners, so it’s encouraging to watch all of the guys get better. Obviously during a game week, we have schemes, and we have package for all the guys to play. Most of those battles are ongoing past the weekend, and then we’ll decide who starts first, but that won’t matter at corner.”

With Mathis shelved, the Broncos chose to carry five corners on its initial active roster: Surtain, Wallace, Moss, Abrams-Draine, starting nickelback Ja’Quan McMillian, and special-teamer Tremon Smith.

The club also moved linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles) and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (knee) to the Physically Unable to Perform list to begin the 2024 campaign. Sanders and Turner-Yell will be permitted to play in Week 5 — same as Mathis — but are expected to remain sidelined for a longer duration.

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