Last night, we saw something no Denver Broncos fan ever wants to see. We saw star cornerback Patrick Surtain II limp off the field with the help of a trainer. It came late in the fourth quarter during the Broncos' 31-13 victory over the Colts. He suffered the ankle injury after intercepting Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and was tackled low by a receiver. He was evaluated for the ankle injury and was told he could go back into the game. However, he aggravated it a few plays later, was taken to the locker room, and quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.
Thankfully, we received some good news this morning regarding the status of his ankle. NFL Network's lead NFL insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II is only dealing with a minor ankle sprain.
This is the best-case scenario for the Broncos and Surtain II who likely will not miss all that much time. However, with the team on a short week before their Thursday Night Football game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, his status is in doubt.
The Broncos are already without cornerback Riley Moss who has missed the past two games due to a knee injury (but appears close to returning), so losing Surtain II would be a major blow to the secondary. It is a minor ankle injury and Surtain II is a young top-tier athlete, so he could bounce back pretty quickly for this, but we'll need to keep an eye on the injury reports this week to see if he has a chance to play Thursday Night.
If he does miss the game, rookie cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and Damarri Mathis will be called on to handle the starting duties on Thursday Night vs. Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense. The rookie more than held his own this past Sunday vs. the Colts but Justin Herbert is a much more talented passer than Anthony Richardson, so he will be tested once again.
The Broncos currently have a 91% chance to make the postseason, are the 6th seed in the AFC, and have a one-game lead over the 7th-seed Chargers. So, they are in a good position if they're without Surtain for a game, but I would much rather see him out there on Thursday Night. Hopefully, he and Moss bounce back quickly from their injuries and are good to go Thursday Night and officially clinch a postseason berth.