ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The physical blows continue for the Denver Broncos.
Inside linebacker Jonas Griffith will require season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL with Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirming the 9NEWS report.
“It’s unfortunate because he was one of those guys who was rehabbing, too (like Tim Patrick),'' Payton said. "I saw him a lot and we’re trying to keep his spirits up.”
The injury was suffered during training camp practice Tuesday.
Griffith, 26, was a season-opening starter at inside linebacker last year alongside Josey Jewell. Griffith was partially replaced by Alex Singleton, who wound up as Denver's leading tackler in 2022, before the former Indiana State standout suffered a season-ending foot injury during a midseason practice.
Although Jewell and Singleton are the starting inside linebackers this year with third-round rookie Drew Sanders coming in behind them, Griffith was slated to be a No. 4 inside linebacker and core special teamer.
The Broncos signed former UNLV inside linebacker Austin Ajiake to their 90-man roster following a workout Thursday morning. Griffith joins Tim Patrick (Achilles), Baron Browning (knee) Riley Moss (core) and KJ Hamler (heart condition) as Broncos who have suffered significant setbacks so far this season.
Payton was asked if he felt snakebitten by so many injuries as the team begins its second week of training camp.
“I don’t think it’s out of the ordinary, honestly,'' Payton said. "I can’t speak [about] the past, but in training camp, you get a few of these. Hopefully, you don’t get as many as other teams, but we look closely at everything we do leading up to the drills in practice. One was a fluke injury (Patrick) and the other happened on a special teams play where he stepped on a foot (Griffith). So, no, I don’t.”
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