Talanoa Hufanga Expected to Miss Time—But Broncos Have Answers

Hufanga suffered the injury late in the third quarter of the Broncos' 23-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, making a tackle for a loss. He's now set to miss his first game since joining the Broncos as a free agent in the spring of 2025.

Through five games, Hufanga has been an impact player, totaling 23 tackles (12 solo), three tackles for a loss, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two interceptions, one of which he returned to the house.

Hufanga earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for that pick-six game — a 30-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Mile High. He picked Matthew Stafford off a second time in the end zone to end the game on Sunday Night Football.

Hufanga started all 17 games in his first year as a Bronco, totaling 106 tackles on his way to being named a second-team All-Pro. He was viewed as a big injury risk when the Broncos originally signed him, due to how his last couple of seasons with the San Francisco 49ers played out.

Hopefully, Hufanga is back in time to host the Kansas City Chiefs for the Broncos' rematch at Mile High in Week 8. But it might not be until after the Broncos' Week 10 bye, if he doesn't recover as quickly as the team hopes. Ankle injuries can be fickle.

The good news is, the Broncos haven't placed Hufanga on injured reserve, which hints that the team believes he'll be ready to return inside of four weeks. Until then, though, the Broncos need a plan at safety.

How Broncos Compensate

Devon Key stands to be the Broncos' starter at safety next to Brandon Jones while Hufanga is out. The Broncos still have JL Skinner and Tycen Anderson on the 53-man roster, but don't be surprised if they elevate veteran safety Taylor Rapp from the practice squad.

The Broncos wanted Rapp for a reason, and he's had a month-plus to settle in and assimilate the playbook. It wouldn't be a complete shock to see Rapp go from the practice squad to the starting lineup while Hufanga is out, given his extensive experience, but the Broncos are likely to give Key the first bite at the apple.

But if Denver was waiting for the right time to deploy Rapp and make use of his veteran experience, there may not be a better one than this. Since entering the league in 2019, Rapp has more career starts (72) than Hufanga does NFL games (71).

Rapp has played in some huge games with the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. He won a Super Bowl as a starter with the Rams a few years back.

That's a lot of experiece to let languish on the sideline or practice squad with Hufanga out of commission. Jones has been playing lights-out himself, and he and Rapp could make a solid safety duo.

Key is talented but very inexperienced. He may be a first-team All-Pro special teams ace, but he's yet to turn the corner as a reliable safety on defense.

The Broncos rolled the dice by letting P.J. Locke go in free agency this past offseason, hoping that Key could step in and serve as a bona fide No. 3 safety. The fact that Denver went searching for Rapp at the end of training camp may hint at how the team views Key from a reliability standpoint.

The Takeaway

The Broncos have the horses to survive Hufanga's absence. But it's going to be dicey without cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II (ankle) and Riley Moss (ribs), too.

There's a chance Moss could play against the Seahawks on Thursday night, but the Broncos might be shorthanded again at cornerback.