Broncos will be waiting a while on Baron Browning’s return

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Baron Browning’s recovery from meniscus surgery will stretch into the season.

Broncos coach Sean Payton confirmed that the third-year edge rusher will start the campaign on the physically-unable-to-perform list. This means Browning will not count against the roster limit — until he is activated.

If Browning remains on the PUP list into the regular season, he would miss at least four games.

“Obviously, he is someone who will start the season on PUP,” Payton said after Tuesday’s minicamp practice.

Browning’s recovery was part of the reason why the Broncos reached out to pursue former Chiefs edge rusher Frank Clark. The Broncos made official the signing of Clark on Tuesday.

“I think that had a little bit to do with it, and that’s part of the deal,” Payton said.

Browning missed 3 games in each of the last two seasons with various injuries. He also missed time during OTAs leading up to his rookie campaign in 2021. On the other side at edge rusher, 2022 free-agent pickup Randy Gregory landed on injured reserve in each of the last two seasons.

Collectively, that made adding to the room essential. Beyond Gregory and Browning, the Broncos’ top two edge rushers are third-year veteran Jonathon Cooper and 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto.

Cooper is a solid rotational player; he has 14 starts in his two previous seasons and played at least 45 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the last two years. Bonitto played 35 percent of the defensive snaps last year with one start.

Clark lingered on the market for nearly three months after Kansas City released him March 7.

“We’ll find a role within what we are doing and where he can help us,” Payton said. “I think it’s always a challenge to find those guys who you can say are pressure players, but he is one of them.”

Clark will not take part in this week’s mandatory minicamp — in part because he will return to Kansas City to receive the final spoils of his work with the Chiefs.

“He will be starting at the start of training camp. We knew that going in. He has a ring ceremony coming up. That will be a little awkward,” Payton said with a laugh. “But anyway, it’s good to have him joining us.”

Good — and necessary, since the Broncos will operate short-handed at outside linebacker for a while without Browning in the mix.

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