Shane Ray was handed a great opportunity on Sunday against Cleveland, as his reps were increased with All-Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware was out with an injury.
But the day did not go as Ray would have hoped. The Broncos first-round draft pick in 2015 suffered an injury that was later reported to be an MCL sprain that will keep him out for at least a month.
Denver has great depth on defense, with Shaquil Barrett starting (and shining) against Cleveland, but the loss of Ray means Denver will need Ware to recover on-schedule and return to the lineup at 100 percent when Green Bay comes to town in two weeks.
Here’s how the injury played out on Twitter, including Ray’s response postgame, promising to come back strong.
That looked bad … Wolfe was knocking Mitchell Schwartz back, and Schwartz landed on Ray's right knee.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 18, 2015
Shane Ray in a world of hurt. This aint good.
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) October 18, 2015
Shane Ray limps off field with knee injury Judging from teammates reaction not good.
— Rod Mackey (@RodMackeySports) October 18, 2015
Broncos down to Barrett, Miller and McCray at OLB. In an emergency, Anunike could probably play a few snaps there, too.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 18, 2015
Good thing Larentee McCray suited up.
— Sam Cowhick (@SamCowhick) October 18, 2015
Shane Ray @X_RAYted56 carted off the field to the locker room. Hope for the best for the kid. #DENvsCLE
— Lionel Bienvenu (@lionelbienvenu) October 18, 2015
#Broncos LB Shane Ray (knee) has been ruled out for #DENvsCLE
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 18, 2015
Loss of Ray cuts down the depth at Edge Rush, with Ware out as well. . . Could be a factor. . . No rotatable edge rushers. . .
— Gil Whiteley, Now and Then (@Gilfest) October 18, 2015
Kubiak says the Shane Ray injury may not be as bad as it looked. They'll obviously get official word after tests tomorrow.
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) October 18, 2015
Broncos rookie Shane Ray has a sprained MCL http://t.co/jUsA9x05e4 pic.twitter.com/x6dxe3m4r9
— SB Nation NFL 🏈 (@SBNationNFL) October 18, 2015
Appreciate all the prayers. No worries I'll be back ready for battle 💪🏽👊🏽✊🏽😤
— Shane Ray (@StingRay56) October 18, 2015
