ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos suffered what appeared to be their first serious injury of training camp Thursday when starting inside linebacker Todd Davis went down near the end of practice.
Citing multiple sources, 9NEWS was the first to report Davis suffered a left calf injury. He was taken for an MRI exam soon after practice to determine the extent of the injury.
It’s the second consecutive year Davis has suffered a significant calf injury. On July 18 in 2019 — the first day of training camp — Davis suffered a partially-torn right calf muscle. Initially thought to be a three-to-four week injury, Davis missed two months – and the first two regular-season games -- before returning in the Broncos’ third game at Green Bay.
Davis still wound up leading the team in tackles last year with a career-most 134.
Davis injured the other calf Thursday, which was the sixth day of camp practice – but a month later than last year as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of NFL training camps this year.
A similar recovery time would cause Davis to miss four to six games this year. The latest calf injury seemed more severe. Davis was able to hobble off the field last year; this time he couldn’t place any weight on his left leg as he was carted off.
After Davis was helped into the trainer’s room by two medical aides, he was replaced on the No. 1 defense by Josey Jewell, who lost his starting job to Alexander Johnson last year.
Jewell, Josh Watson and Justin Strnad would likely compete for as long as Davis is sidelined.
In the final year of a three-year, $15 million contract extension he received prior to 2018, Davis has a $5 million salary scheduled to come his way this year. Although none of that money is guaranteed, Davis may be entitled to his $5 million base salary if his injury recovery extends into the season.
Davis may have suffered the most significant injury, but he wasn’t the only Broncos player to go down in recent days. Rookie receiver KJ Hamler will miss two weeks with a hamstring injury, according to head coach Vic Fangio.
Prior to camp, tight end Austin Fort tweaked his knee and underwent arthroscopic surgery. Another tight end, veteran Nick Vannett, is currently in the concussion protocol.
