ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos will play without cornerback A.J. Bouye this Sunday at Atlanta as he has been declared "out" with a concussion.
Bouye was accidentally blasted by teammate Kareem Jackson, who had come up from his safety position with the intent of hitting Los Angeles Chargers’ receiver Mike Williams. Bouye will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Michael Ojemudia. It’s unclear who will serve as the No. 3 cornerback as the team lost veteran cornerback De’Vante Bausby to Arizona two weeks ago.
Kevin Tolliver II, who formerly played with Broncos head coach Vic Fangio when both were with the Chicago Bears, was called up from the practice squad to the 53-man roster this week. Rookie nickel Essang Bassey also served as the No. 3 corner earlier this season.
The Broncos are also unlikely to have their best defensive lineman. Shelby Harris is in the COVID reserve protocol because of contact he had with a person outside team headquarters. Harris has tested negative but his five-day quarantine is not expected to expire until after the Broncos play their game Sunday in Atlanta.
"If it was a Monday night game, he’d have a much better chance," Fangio said.
Chubb homecoming
Atlanta allowed 8,000 fans into Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their previous home game against Detroit. A decent percentage of fans this Sunday will be cheering on Broncos’ outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, who grew up 20 miles outside Atlanta.
"All in all, it’s probably going to 45-60 people there for me and cheering me on," Chubb said. "It’s going to be a cool experience to go back home and play against the team I was cheering for growing up."
Chubb, who has 5.5 sacks in his last four games, was 12 years old when Matt Ryan was a first-round rookie quarterback and 15 when star receiver Julio Jones was a rookie.
"To be on the field going against them is for sure a ‘pinch me’ moment but I can’t let that get to me too much," Chubb said. "I’ve still got to go out there and do what I can."
Morris on IR
The Broncos placed offensive lineman Patrick Morris on injured reserve with a bicep injury. He appeared to be hurt when he was tossed to the ground by a Chargers’ nose tackle Linval Joseph after Morris had been blocking for Brandon McManus’ game-winning extra point on the last play of the Broncos’ 31-30 win against the Chargers.
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