Sean Payton Addresses Rash of Injuries to Broncos ILBs

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is not pressing the panic button over the spate of injuries snakebiting the team's inside linebacker corps, including that to prized newcomer Dre Greenlaw.

Rather, this early in training camp, Payton is treating the series of unfortunate events as an evaluation period for those beneath the afflicted on the totem pole.

“I don’t think, well, and I say this respectfully… I read somewhere where it was like injury plague," Payton countered to reporters Thursday. "[ILB] Alex [Singleton] is back here in six days. So I think obviously other guys step up and get those reps, but knock on wood, fortunately, we’ve been good here during this camp, but it gives us a chance to evaluate other players. And so you’re seeing [ILB Levelle] Bailey, you’re seeing the reps. [ILB Justin] Strnad obviously had a ton of work, but you do get a chance. And throughout these drills, we’re trying to rotate it enough so that we are getting the proper evaluation on these younger players, which is important. Our biggest fear would be that someone leaves here and ends up excelling somewhere else. And so we want to make sure we don’t let that happen.”

Greenlaw, who inked a $31 million deal in free agency, is worrisome if only due to an extensive injury history dating back to his time with the 49ers. After healing from a quad issue sustained earlier this offseason, he pulled up lame in a one-on-one drill Thursday with what Payton described as unrelated tightness in his lower body. (Greenlaw, however, was spotted moving around well at Friday's practice.)

Singleton, a fellow veteran starter coming off a 2024 ACL tear, suffered a broken thumb on Monday that was expected to keep him sidelined for about a week. He underwent corrective surgery but, like Greenlaw, has since been seen at Broncos Park.

The club also lost primary reserve ILB Drew Sanders to a foot injury -- the most serious of the bunch, knocking him out "north of 4-6 weeks" and likely resulting in a stint on short-term injured reserve to begin the regular season.

This all has created an obvious void in the middle of Vance Joseph's defense, though the void has surprisingly been filled by an improbable source: second-year former undrafted free agent Levelle Bailey, who's opened eyes with play that's "night-and-day" from last season, according to Payton.